The Dizzy Dreamer
by Divinity Within Me
Summary: Ninja life wasn’t like the stories he had been told. Entering the shinobi world at a young age, Namikaze Naruto quickly finds that it is full of hate. Though he is the son of the Hokage and a prodigee in his own right, not even he is immune to that hate.
1. Bonds

_Hello all :)_

 _It's been a while, I came across this story and remembered I'd forgotten about it due to work and such distracting me so I decided to pick it back up. Sorry if I disappointed anyone but my life just got so busy. I'll be re-posting the first few entries in a re-formatted chapter structure with a few very minor revisions. If you don't need to reread, the new content starts on chapter 4._

 _Anyways, there are a lot of things I love about Naruto, but quite a few things that absolutely bother me, such as the Lord of Edge; Sasuke and his counterpart, Lord of the_ _Shounen Cliche_ _: Naruto. I've always wanted to take the story, tear it apart and inject some actual character development into the series, unfortunately, I don't own Naruto..._

 _So I decided to write my own story instead. This is a story where Naruto isn't a "love and friendship will prevail" cliche, nor is he a bumbling idiot. This story will feature Naruto as the main character, rather than the Lord of Edge for the first million episodes. This will also feature a stronger, much more naturally talented Naruto plagued by a different kind of curse other than the Nine Tails. I'm not into god-modding, so Naruto's strengths and limitations will be put into perspective as the story progresses. This story will also be changing events prior to the beginning of the show. Things like the Nine Tails being hijacked and Itachi going homicidal never happened, leaving both Naruto's parents and Sasuke's clan alive and well. Explanations as to why these events never happened will be explained as the story goes on._

 _Anyways, sorry for rambling on and on. I hope you guys enjoy :) pls let me know if there's any serious grammar problems, unfortunately I'm not immaculate, just divine_ _._

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

 **Bonds**

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

Namikaze Naruto...

There were theories about him; something along the lines of having the strange ability to move his consciousness into alternate dimensions within time and space, living in both this universe and some sort of contradictory universe at the same time.

His dad called him Mayor of LaLa Land, his sensei's thought he had ADD, and his classmates just called him weird.

Only his mom truly understood him. Naruto would stare off into space for hours, not looking at anything in this world but rather visualizing his own for so long that his vision would be blurry from being unfocussed for so long. HIs mom called him a dizzy dreamer.

Naruto could construct an entire existence in a span of just a few hours and when he was done, he would play in that existence until he had exhausted himself, so it was an ironic truth when others said he lived in alternate realities.

As he got older, his mind began to wonder about his state of being. He'd see so many other kids around the Village running around with friends without the scrutiny of their parents or a body guard. Not many kids wanted an ANBU Captain around when trying to play.

He was maybe five when he became fed up with sitting at the banks of the large lake he frequented with his _ever vigilant_ body guard Hatake Kakashi, or Kakashi-baka as Naruto came to label him as, in near absolute silence after the boy became fed up with Kakashi's masterful skills as a white haired Shinobi would read his book and Naruto would put his consciousness on autopilot.

The highlights of his early childhood were weekly visits to the Uchiha Clan compound where Naruto's mother, Uzumaki Kushina would have tea with Uchiha Mikoto while Naruto and Mikoto's youngest son Uchiha Sasuke bickered about rules to a completely made-up game until they could no longer stand each other.

To put it plainly, Naruto was a rather lonely boy. And Kushina saw it every time they ventured out of their home where her son would stare longingly after the other children playing in packs at the park or just plain being joyfully ignorant nuisances in the street. She tried to fill the gap left by the friends Naruto wished he had only to realize that she wasn't a child. She couldn't see the world as Naruto could and the clever little boy saw right through her attempts.

But Kushina also saw something in her little boy that made her look into his future with pride. When he thought she wasn't looking, Naruto would sneak into his father's office and try to learn anything he could about being a Ninja. He pestered Kakashi relentlessly to teach him. Namikaze Naruto was eager to learn and Kushina saw this as something to curb his wandering mind away from his loneliness.

She taught him and he soaked it all up like a sponge. Like his father, he had an aptitude for the Ninja Arts, as if he were made to wield the inherited chakra inside him. He progressed far quicker than Kushina ever imagined. He ate up knowledge like a glutton would a cake. It wasn't just his physical prowess. His mental capacity for higher learning was more than evident in his reading level, his capability to solve mathematical problems that children twice his age couldn't even tackle and his developing theories about anything and everything around him. Naruto could take apart a television and figure out how to put it back together if ever allowed to. All he needed was time. Afterwards, he'd forever know the ins and outs of a television.

At five, when it was time for Naruto to enter the Ninja Academy, he was already ahead of the rest of his peers, so much so that he was actually disappointed with the experience. He could've passed that stupid test before he even entered the Academy, but Hokage- _baka_ made him stay and learn about teamwork and all that after-school special junk.

That same year, his mother and father announced their pregnancy. Namikaze Naruto was going to be a big brother. It made that extra year he was forced to stay at the Academy worth it as he got to witness his baby brothers experience the world.

Kushina gave birth to the twins, Namikaze Koji and Namikaze Eiji, the only two human beings in all of existence that scared Kushina about as much as she scared others. She used to say that they could probably accidentally destabilize Shinobi World Politics if they were ever allowed in the Shinobi Council meetings.

He came to be grateful for that extra year. Naruto was actually a very social person when he wasn't lost in some sort of advanced mathematic theories about the most efficient way of throwing kunai. He met two very special people in those classrooms. Akashita Noya, a very relaxed kid of about twelve years old at the time and Uchiha Shiori... who was, well... an Uchiha.

Noya became something of a big brother to Naruto, even though the blonde boy was much more advanced than his older friend. Noya taught Naruto about the world and about staying out late and causing mayhem. Ditching Kakashi and roaming the village, things that Naruto was generally not allowed to do before. He just had to be extra, extra careful he was never caught by his mom or it was bye-bye Naruto.

Shiori, on the other hand became his rival. Oddly enough, she was the only person in the academy who could stand up against Naruto and his Taijutsu which he was known to excel at. She once praised him on how efficient his movements were and how good he was at exploiting the Sharingan's weakness by being unpredictable. She was never rude or spiteful, but she definitely was driven to beat him one day.

They all graduated together. Naruto at six years old and the other two at twelve. Perhaps the most excited he'd ever been in his entire six years of existing was when all three were placed on the same Genin team. He actually got in trouble for "whooping" loudly when they called out his team.

Team 11; Namikaze Naruto, Akashita Noya and Uchiha Shiori under Jōnin Commander Hyūga Hiroaki (oddly, he was a very morbid person, contrary to his name.)

Together, Team 11 made a name for themselves as one of the top Genin squads in all of Konoha.

Life for Naruto was absolutely perfect. He used to think that nothing could ever get bad enough to lose sight of what he truly loved.

At nine years old, Naruto passed the Chūnin Exams with his team, and they began taking on more difficult missions.

Naruto remembered the mission's details that killed the thoughtful, carefree little shinobi he'd become.

Local Land of Fire law enforcement reported a strange man headed toward a place near the coast of the ocean called Port Town. They were ordered not to engage because he displayed characteristics of shinobi training and commissioned Konoha to investigate.

Whatever it was Team 11 was expecting... it was not what they found.

An entire town's population slaughtered like animals right down to the youngest soul in her crib. And the person responsible...

Naruto remembered him _vividly._ Long, sharp, metal claws on his left hand sticking out of a tattered poncho and a bulky gauntlet on his right hand, stringy hair, black eyes and a respirator covering his nose, mouth and lower jaw. According to Hiroaki-sensei, this murderer was known only as Joki no Shinobi: The Ninja of the Fog. He was sadistic. A half functioning psychopath who killed for fun half the time and killed for a dark purpose the other half.

Hiroaki ordered his team to run.

The entire town was smothered in a thick layer of white fog imbued with volatile chakra that rendered Shiori's Sharingan and Noya's sensory abilities absolutely useless. Naruto had no way of tracking this menace, and no way of knowing when he would strike. He couldn't protect his comrades. And as if affirming Joki no Shinobi's sadistic nature, he separated the group and systematically tore them down one by one, starting with Hiroaki.

Like a scene from his worst nightmare, Naruto was saved for last. He lashed out in a blood rage, succeeding only getting himself gravely wounded. He welcomed and honorable death on the battlefield, hoping that one day, this abomination would attack the wrong person and end up being the victim of a death more brutal than what he was capable of imagining.

But it left.

Just like that, Joki no Shinobi just walked away. He didn't say a word. He didn't look scared off or worried. It was like a timer went off and he just decided it was time to go home for dinner.

Naruto forced himself patch his deep wounds up as best he could to search for his comrades. The fog never lifted, and he found himself walking through blood soaked sand and looking over disembodied civilians in hopes one of his teammates had survived.

He couldn't contemplate the condition he found his sensei and Shiori in, and that made him wonder why Noya had somehow lived through the attack. _Barely_ lived. Naruto found him on the cusp of death, bleeding from his mouth as his ribs seemed to be crushed into him, and four gaping gashes running from his shoulder down to the opposite hip.

Naruto wasn't in the best of shape himself with one of his own rips cracked and pierced into his lung and a deep cut on his shoulder that rendered that arm useless due to pain. At the time, he wasn't aware of the severe internal damage that had been done to him.

But even in his condition, he promised Noya that he would save the older boy no matter the cost. And he did just that.

They called it a miracle. Naruto sustained Noya's life for three and had been in a near death state for at least two days out of the three, still managing to travel out of Port Town, gather food and water and patch Noya up to the best of his abilities.

Saved by the Hokage himself, Naruto stayed in a critical state for several weeks alongside his comrade. Both were extremely lucky to have survived with a toxin coursing through their bloodstream applied by Joki no Shinobi's claws.

Following the destruction of Team 11, Noya disappeared into the ANBU black ops, and Naruto contemplated walking away from the shinobi world. A surprising conversation with Kakashi-baka changed his mind. It was then that the two damaged souls began to bond.

Every shinobi had witnessed deaths of friends and comrades. Few were cursed to hear the terrifying screams of comrades being ripped apart, knowing they're unable to do anything to help. Few experienced hundreds of civilians torn to shreds and tossed carelessly into the streets, and having to walk through those streets, sloshing gore beneath their sandals.

Naruto was changed. He was haunted. His daydreams turned into dark memories and ceaseless rumination of that day that stained his innocence. There was no "shinobi psychiatrist" to make things all better, ninja were expected to deal and move on. This was their life. They ate death for breakfast and shit tragedy at night.

Naruto promised himself that he would become the strongest shinobi ever after that day, driven by self validated revenge disguised as justice at destroying whatever made that shinobi so sadistic. He just didn't know how to do that.

Naruto became reclusive and unresponsive to anybody outside of his parents, his brothers and Kakashi, who'd become something of a crutch for Naruto, someone willing to share his burden.

Maybe it was out of the goodness of his heart, or maybe he knew that Naruto needed it, but Kakashi unofficially took Naruto as a pupil. Naruto refused missions and offers to join other teams for four years until the Hokage decided that enough was enough. Both Naruto and Kakashi needed to learn how to work with a team and truly care about someone again.

Thus, Kakashi was forced into retiring from the ANBU Black Ops and becoming the most respected and the laziest Jōnin sensei in modern history.

But even Naruto had to admit; this life - the shinobi system in general was skewed. It was twisted how a child could go on a mission and witness things that would make grown men piss in their shorts. His new coping mechanism became shoving those thoughts and emotions into the deepest, darkest recesses of his mind in hopes that they would just dissolve into nothing more than ghosts of memories. His outlook was far from positive, but he would never let it become negative. So when he was told that he and Kakashi were now in the reeducation via cute little Genin program, he looked at it with optimism guiding his thoughts.

Maybe he'd find people who would actually bring him out of this rut he felt he'd fallen into. Who knew.

Naruto glanced at the sun, gathering the general time of day, and then at Kakashi sitting on the bench beside him with his face shoved in his book. They were late... again. "Oi, didn't you say we had two Genin to pick up today?"

Kakashi simply nodded, turning the page of his smutty book.

"Wasn't that like an hour ago?"

Kakashi nodded once more. Naruto sighed and slumped into the bench, shoving his hands into the front pockets of his orange accented, black hoodie - sleeveless because it was summer.

The sound of Kakashi laughing in that low, pervert sort of way made the vein on Naruto's forehead throb. "I swear, I'm gonna beat Ero-Sennin over the head with those damn books!"

The orange book snapped closed. "Maa, maa, relax Naruto. It's tradition to make Genin suffer."

Naruto pouted. "Hiroaki-sensei never tortured..." He paused, remembering the grueling training session involving wasps from Kiri and paled. "Never mind."

Kakashi stood up and stretched the laziness from his bones. Failing miserably. "Alright. I guess they've waited long enough."

"Finally." Naruto stood.

"I'll meet you there?" Kakashi then disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving Naruto staring at the vacant spot.

His fist clenched and the vein nearly exploded. "Meet me _where_!?"

Kakashi- _baka_!

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

After searching the entire village for Kakashi and his new team, Naruto gave up in frustration. They weren't at the academy, or at the training grounds - he'd checked all of the public ones, he'd even burst into the Hokage's office and demanded he tell him where his loose cannon, former student was. Not even the great Yondiame Hokage knew.

He finally caught a break when he heard someone mention that Hatake Kakashi had been on the academy's roof for a while, going on about how he was a hero - blah blah blah. That man was insufferable. So, Naruto went to the roof of the academy only to find a piece of paper taped to the railing that said "Training ground sixteen, 6:30. I win this round."

Naruto's teeth ground together so hard he was sure he'd buffed them to dust. Yeah, he won, but it would be the last time that happened. Shinobi hide and seek was something he took very seriously seeing as Namikaze Naruto had been the champion since he was five years old. He even managed to hide from the Hokage for three hours. No way would Kakashi win ever again. He crushed the paper in his hand, and it lit aflame, falling into charred dust in the wind. Kakashi was going to drive Naruto to homicide one day.

And the first person he'd kill would be that white haired, one eyed, perverted, lazy motherfu...

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

Home.

He could hear the ruckus coming from the back yard of the family house, the loud protests coming from two youthful voices, and the unmistakable yell that signified Uzumaki Kushina's demon form. Not Kyūbi form - that would've been welcomed in place of her demon form. One of the twins - or both, who knew - had awoken the monster sleeping deep within. A monster that didn't do too much sleeping anymore, and also didn't do too much to frighten the two mini-monsters it spawned. By the sound of it, things were about to get bloody as they patronized Konoha's Red Hot Habanero. They were brave souls.

Luckily for them, their father wasn't too keen on killing the youngest members of the Namikaze family and the situation was promptly diffused.

The smell of dinner wafted through Naruto's nose, unfortunately - it was extremely unfortunate, actually - that ramen wasn't on the table tonight. Though, it rarely was. Something about unhealthy, greasy... who cares. His mother was obviously insane.

He lingered in the front yard, hoping to get just a few more moments of peace before the twins attacked him, quite literally. But, to his dismay, the younger of the twins, Eiji, the brown-haired anomaly of the family, peeked his head out of the door. Damn sensor types.

The door was shoved open, smacking against the wall as Eiji stood with a hand on his hip, an angry look and a finger pointed right at Naruto. Despite attempting to look as intimidating as he could, Naruto couldn't help but smile. His unkempt hair, blue sash tied around his forehead leaving a tuft of hair hanging down the middle of his forehead and a light blue tee shirt that matched the color of his eyes was anything but intimidating. "Naruto! You're late!"

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I know, I know. I got caught up with-"

A shuffle and a shift in the air cause Naruto to react quickly to the other twin behind him with a kunai aimed for his neck. The sound of another sharp kunai slicing through the air thrown by Eiji sounded at that moment.

Naruto's wrist came up and bumped the offending twin's wrist with enough force to knock the weapon out of his hand before Naruto spun and latched onto his head, snatching the kunai out of the air and tossing it right back at Eiji who's eyes went wide. He was forced to duck.

Naruto was behind the brown haired boy instantaneously, free hand gripping the kunai, and tossed the other twin right into Eiji's back. The twins stumbled to the floor with a chorus of grunts.

Naruto sighed and shook his head. "C'mon guys." He berated. "Eiji, you were way too tense, and your eyes kept shifting to look behind me." The boys rolled off of each other, rubbing their heads.

Naruto's gaze went to the other. The blonde haired, spitting image of his father with a red sash on his forehead and a red shirt. The only quality they shared was height and eyes. And mischievous personality. "Koji, I heard you pull out your kunai and jump at me."

Eiji threw his hands up with a frustrated groan. "Why are you so strong?"

"Baka, he's a Chūnin!" Koji glared at Eiji.

"So?" Eiji shrugged. "We can at least hit Iruka-sensei once."

"Yeah, one time when he was reading." Koji reminded. "And then he whooped us. I told you it's useless unless a Jōnin teaches us."

Eiji growled in reluctant agreement.

"And you!" Koji pointed threateningly at Naruto. "You cheated!"

"Yeah! You said you wouldn't use Hiraishin!" Eiji pointed as well.

Naruto's eyebrow rose. "Would you rather I threw you across the yard?" He asked Koji pointedly.

Koji paused, unable to form a valid argument. "...I see your point."

Naruto shrugged. He returned the kunai to Eiji. "Simple mistakes, guys." He hauled them to their feet.

"Naruto?" His mother's voice sounded from around the corner.

Both twins held in a mischievous laugh. "Good luck." Eiji whispered.

Naruto smirked and slapped the tailing twin as they both scurried off.

He turned and Kushina smiled. "You're late."

"Sorry. I got held up."

"Well, get in here. You're literally just in time." She turned back around the corner.

Naruto closed the door behind him and followed the twins into the house.

His mother was moving the dinner to the table as his dad set the table. "Kakashi-baka is rubbing off on our son." She said to Minato.

Minato just chuckled, walking up to Naruto and giving him a half-hug. "I think he'll be fine."

"Wash up for dinner." Kushina ordered the three boys. "And if I find so much as a towel out of place, I will send you to Mikoto-obasan's for a week so Fugaku-san can beat some respect into you!"

The twins paled at that threat. "Hai, Kaachan!"

"Good."

Naruto followed the twins to keep a keen eye on them less Sasuke's dad turned them into Itachi. Or worse, Sasuke.

"So, did you meet your new teammates? Who are they? What are they like?"

Post dinner small talk was the most pleasant part of the night. The twins were stuffed and beginning to get tired, so the mayhem stopped at that point and the elder three enjoyed a nice conversation.

It was apparent that Kushina was excited to see Naruto be around kids his own age. He knew that she wanted him to heal so badly and her hopes were so strong that she nearly believed wholeheartedly that having a team was the answer.

Naruto just smiled lightly. She loved her kids so much it probably hurt. "No, I didn't."

"So you never found him, eh?" Minato smirked.

Naruto sighed, pushing his irritation down.

"What do you mean? Kakashi-baka didn't meet his team?" Kishan's asked, the anger in her voice rising subtly.

"Oh no. _He_ met them. He just ditched me at the lake." Naruto replied irately.

"That insufferable, lazy, no good shinobi!" Her demon form was starting to leak out, causing everybody to sink into their chairs nervously.

"Kushina, I'll scold him tomorrow." Minato assured with a nervous rubbing of his neck.

Her demonic presence receded and she glared at Minato. "You'd better scare him to death! Tell him death is coming his way If he doesn't start taking Naruto and his team seriously!"

Minato just nodded nervously. "Hai, hai."

She crossed her arms. "Hm." A collective internal sigh silently sounded across the table. She turned to the twins. "Almost time for bed you two. It's your turn to clear the table."

Both twins groaned, mumbling under their breath about how unreasonable it was for her to ask.

Naruto eyed. "Come on, guys. Kaachan made dinner, the least you can do is clear the table."

Both sighed but nodded reluctantly. "Hai, niisan..." The stood and collected everybody's plates as Kushina watched, her jaw in her lap.

She pointed a shaky finger at them as they piled the plates in the sink. "H-how... what did..." She turned to Naruto. "What did you do to them? Genjutsu?"

Naruto shrugged. "Uh... no? They always listen to me."

"Yeah, they're usually pretty obedient with me too." Minato added.

"You're serious!?" She nearly yelled. "You two have had this ability the entire time and you've never bothered to teach me?!"

"Uh..." They both said nervously. Minato instinctively rubbed the back of his head and Naruto poked his fingers together as their nerves frayed.

"You wouldn't let us." Naruto replied meekly. "Every time we tried you yelled at us."

"You said you had it under control..." Minato affirmed.

Kushina's hair went back to normal and she sat down. "Oh. Well, I'll stop yelling at you then."

Naruto went wide eyed. "Wait, really? That's all we have to do and you won't yell at us?"

"Yes, I'll stop. So long as you don't do anything stupid."

"Oh." Naruto replied. _Way to crush my hopes..._

The twins sat back down at the table. "Oi! niisan! When did you become a Genin?" Koji asked curiously.

Naruto saw Minato's face pale in fear. He gave his dad a questioning look as the man shook his head slowly, pleading for Naruto not to tell them. "Uh..." Naruto began. "Why?" He asked the twins.

"Because Tousan wouldn't let us graduate this year." Eiji pouted.

"Just like last year." Koji crossed his arms.

"Oh... well, I, uh..." Naruto glanced at his father who was subtly holding up his hands, making strange symbols. He held up ten fingers, and bounced his hand once. Ten again. And then one finger. "Twenty one?"

Minato slapped his palm to his face.

"Oh!" Naruto exclaimed. "Eleven! I was eleven."

"We know that's a lie." Koji rose his eyebrow. "That was only two years ago."

Minato sighed. So much for that... "Naruto was six when he became a Genin." He admitted.

"See!? That's so no fair!" Eiji whined. "How come Naruto got to graduate and we don't?"

"Yeah! What he said." Koji glared.

A flash of unwanted imagery and memories went through their parents and Naruto's minds. At their age, Naruto was constantly on the move, taking one mission after the other, preparing for the Chūnin exams and using up his entire time training. He regretted not staying in the academy, maybe then he'd be normal. "Because." Naruto said lowly. "Being a kid is more important than graduating early." He smiled weakly. "So just enjoy it. Stop trying to grow up too fast."

Both boys sighed in defeat, completely unsatisfied with that answer. "Can someone at least teach us?" Koji questioned.

"Like who?" Minato asked. "I can't spare a Jōnin right now."

"What about you?" Eiji asked his father.

Minato chuckled. "Eiji, I'm the Hokage. We'd only get about ten minutes of training in a day."

"No fair. You trained Naruto." Koji pointed.

Minato's eyebrow rose. "I did? I didn't know that." He teased.

"Ahem... that was all me." Kushina interjected.

"Huh?" The twins turned in confusion. "You trained Naruto? You're not even a ninja."

Minato held in a laugh.

"Where did you hear that?" Naruto nudged Koji who was closest to him.

"Excuse me, but I was a top tier Jōnin back in my hay days!" She protested in offense.

"A Jōnin?" Koji questioned. "Really..."

"Dude, there's plenty of pictures in the photo albums of Kaachan with her team." Naruto reminded with incredulity in his voice.

"Right." Eiji replied sarcastically. "'Cause that's what we do on our free time: hang out and look through family photos." He rolled his eyes.

"Besides, Kaachan hid them." Koji added.

Naruto glanced at his mother. "Why?"

Her fist clenched at the incident. "They painted a mustache on Mito-sama!" She revealed. "And a penis!"

Naruto did his best to hold in the laugh as the twins giggled.

"Don't you dare laugh!" Kushina warned. "Mito-sama was a respected member of this Village! She was an intricate part of Konoha's safety and deserves to be treated with respect!"

"Alright, alright. That's enough about Mito-sama and... penises." Minato shook his head in amusement. "To answer your question, no. I did not train Naruto. Your mother did."

"Wait... if you trained Naruto then how come he knows Tousan's Jutsu?" Eiji asked pointedly.

Kushina turned to Minato. "Why don't you enlighten them as to how you allowed our son to learn S-rank Jutsu at eight years old." She glared.

Minato sighed. He was never gonna live that one down...

"Uhh, well... he was curious and asked me to explain the principals of Hiraishin. Then he asked your mother to teach him about Fuinjutsu... three months later, he just showed us his own Hiraishin formula. It was nearly correct but I had to teach him what he did wrong to perfect it... he kind of played me now that I think about it..." Minato shrugged.

"Kaachan stopped teaching me Fuinjutsu after that."

"You're damn right I did!" She affirmed. "Think of the damage you would've done..."

"Would've?" Minato scoffed with a wink at Naruto.

"So Tousan didn't train you?" Eiji asked Naruto.

"Nope. Not a day in my life."

Minato chuckled. "I never had to."

"What about Kakashi-baka?" Koji asked. "He trains you, right?"

"Uhh... if you can call it that. He just attacks me and tells me to dodge." Naruto chuckled. "When he's serious he teaches me Jutsu and some tactics he employs in battle."

Koji sighed. "See? Naruto has all the teachers and knows all the Jutsu and we're just here, wasting our potential."

"Maybe we should just ask Jiraya-sama to teach us." Eiji suggested conspiratorially.

Kushina's eyes shot wide.

"Good idea. I'm sure he'd gladly take us along on his ninja research trips." Koji added.

"I bet we'll learn a lot."

Kushina stood up instantly and pointed a finger at Naruto. "You! Teach them!"

Naruto pointed at himself. "M-me?"

"Yes!" She yelled. "I'll be damned if that old pervert corrupt my babies! He's already ensnared Kakashi-baka!"

"I... Uh..." Naruto paled as his mother's face basically dared him to refuse. "Sounds fun?"

"You're damn right it does!"

The twins chuckled evilly, rubbing their hands together.

Naruto glared. Oh... they were in for it now.

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

Insomnia was a curse. As more and more years separated him from that day, that curse became more manageable. Before, he would refuse to sleep. He refused to relive the horror in his dreams. Now, these instances of sleeplessness were few and far between. Maybe four times a month.

This just happened to be one of those nights. And Naruto knew exactly why.

The idea of him having a team again was a terrifying prospect. He found himself lost in his head running over the possible scenarios that could befall his teammates and what he could do to stop them. To protect them. Those daydreams shifted slowly into a game of what ifs, focusing on the worst day of his life. If only he'd done this, or what if he did that. It was torture.

He had to force himself out of his own mind. His heart was slowly dropping as that familiar agony of their memories and his failure descended on him, like the burden got heavier on his shoulders.

His eyes scanned over the vast village, admiring the lights flickering, almost like a constellation of stars. These were his people. His community. Those people relied on shinobi like him to protect them from the hatred that surrounded Konoha right at it's gates. That he need to see them safe and happy was something inherited right from his father. They called it the Will of Fire.

And it definitely burned brightly in Naruto's chest.

He silently thanked the man who's stone head he sat on. Naruto's hero, his role model. Senju Hashirama. That man was what every shinobi, every Hokage should strive to be. Selfless, strong, loving and unshakable. Even when his closest friend became a threat, the Shodai Hokage didn't waver.

Sandiame-sama once told Naruto that Hashirama was the perfect role model, having known the man for a short time. After the incident, he said that Hashirama and Naruto shared several qualities, and he was sure that Naruto would never waver just like the legendary Senju. That Hashirama would be proud to have Naruto as a shinobi of Konoha.

Hirūzen would never know how grateful Naruto was for those words. How much strength had returned after hearing that. After knowing how much faith Sandiame-sama had in him. It drove him to never disappoint the man, or anybody who held even the tiniest spec of faith in him.

That always seemed to pull Naruto from his dark moods of reflection and regret. Instead of blaming himself, he would honor Shiori and Hiroaki's memories by becoming strong and delivering Justice.

The light sound of shunshin broke Naruto from his thoughts. He could only smile. "You're breaking the law by being up here." Noya's voice rang from behind his ANBU mask.

Naruto shrugged. "So? Arrest me."

Noya pulled up his mask, revealing the brutal scar on the left side of his face where he'd been smashed by the metal gauntlet of Joki no Shinobi.

He plopped down next to Naruto with a sigh. "That's way too much work for me."

"I figured." Naruto playfully replied.

"Man, I haven't seen this view in almost four years." Noya lamented fondly. "Forgot how beautiful it is."

Naruto nodded. "Puts what we fight for into perspective, doesn't it?"

Noya shrugged. "That wasn't the first thing that came to my mind, but yeah, it sort of does."

With a chuckle, Naruto grabbed a stray rock and tossed it off of Hashirama's head. "How's life protecting my dad?"

"I wish I was his guard." Noya breathed. "I wouldn't have to investigate every little whiff of trouble in this village."

"Like what?"

"Everything. Burglary, assaults, domestic disputes, bar fights," he shook his head at that one. "drugs seem to be the most popular crime in the past few years. Lowlifes from the Land of Fire's Capital have been migrating here after their crackdown on illicit activities."

Naruto's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Wow. I didn't even know we had that sort of thing here."

"Well, it's nothing big, but they're like cockroaches. Stamp one out and there's another one in the next corner." Noya replied in exasperation.

"Why aren't the Uchiha dealing with this?" Naruto asked curiously.

"They are. Just in other sections of the village. They rotate our squads in and out of active combat kind of to give us a break from all the assassinating and destabilizing of governments - all the fun stuff we get to do. During the family vacation - that's what everyone calls it - different teams have different duties around the village like community work or even helping out with the training at the Academy."

Naruto cringed. "Yeesh. Some of you ANBU guys are terrifying."

Noya chuckled. "Those ones get the less calm jobs. Like me. Right now, my team is assigned to work under Fugaku-sama as an extension of the Uchiha Police Force."

Naruto nodded in understanding. "That actually sounds pretty fun."

"It's a lot of spying on people who could lead us to these dealers and hopefully the ring leader eventually." Noya explained offhandedly. "It's boring."

Naruto chuckled.

"How's life as the most spoiled shinobi in the village?" Noya jabbed playfully.

"It was peachy, but Tousan decided to put me back on a team... of Genin no less."

Noya laughed. "Oh I don't envy you."

"Don't worry, I don't envy you either." Naruto smirked.

"Touché."

"I just hope they're not completely useless." Naruto said. "I'll be stuck doing D-ranks for the rest of my career."

Noya nodded. "In a strange way, that might be kind of nice."

They both say in comfortable silence for a few moments, enjoying the night breeze and the view of their home.

But that came to an end when Naruto's face became serious. "Listen, I know you didn't come here for small talk." He said lowly. "You found something?"

"We alone?"

Naruto nodded.

Noya's expression changed as well. "A lead worth looking into." He answered. "Two weeks ago, a squad of Danzō-sama's Foundation ANBU was found in pieces near the border of Ame. Their wounds match up with the ones from Joki no Shinobi's attack on the Temple last year."

Naruto's fists clenched unintentionally. "Does my dad know?"

Noya shook his head. "Danzō-sama wants to keep this under wraps. If Joki no Shinobi catches onto ANBU tailing him, he'll disappear again."

"Didn't he catch onto The Foundation?"

"Yeah, but The Foundation has no visible ties to Konoha. For all he knows, those shinobi could've been Hunter-killer squads from any nation."

Naruto nodded. Made sense given how far from Konoha this took place at.

"Foundation thinks they've found his trajectory. If that's true..." Those words hung heavy in the air. "I can't get out to investigate any time soon." Noya added. "He told me to ask you..."

Naruto nodded. "I'll try to get out."

"How? You have Kakashi-sempai watching you now. He won't let you abandon your team." Noya reminded.

"I'll figure something out." Naruto assured.

Noya gave Naruto a questioning look. "Noya, relax. It's me we're talking about."

The older shinobi rolled his eyes. "That's what worries me."

Naruto ignored the comment. "I'll keep you updated." Naruto said.

"Right. I'll let you know when you can access the report." Noya stood up and then paused, staring down at his former teammate. "Naruto..."

"Hm?"

"Observe and confirm. _Do not engage_." Noya sternly said. "Those are Danzō-sama's orders."

The blonde boy scowled.

Naruto nodded, and like that, Noya was gone.

This was huge. The first lead they'd had in at least ten months. Naruto was itching to tear Joki no Shinobi apart.

He wanted to so bad, he could taste it.

Standing up, Naruto dusted his pants off and jumped off of Hashirama's head.

On the side of the face, sideways and pressed against the mountainside, the cloaking Jutsu hiding Kakashi dissipated.

 _So this is what you're up to._

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

 _Let me know if you liked it!_


	2. Team 7

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

 **Team 7**

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

Naruto's alarm blared right in his ear.

He had to admit, his alarm clock was the most efficient in the world. Who else can say that their clock not only makes annoying sounds, but also issues threats, makes his entire bed shake and steps all over his back and head. Nobody. That's who. Those lucky people were fortunate enough not to have twin monsters as alarm clocks.

"Oi, Naruto! Are you dead?"

He was way to tired and irritated to even tell which one asked him.

"Eiji, I think he's dead." Koji said as if it were fact.

"Think we should tell mom?" Eiji asked.

"Nah. She'd probably kill him."

Naruto groaned. "I'm gonna kill you two of you don't get off my back."

"Oh look, he isn't dead." Eiji stated.

"What a relief." Koji added.

"Ughhhh!" Naruto groaned. "What time is it?"

"Uhh, 5:45 in the morning." Eiji answered. "Time to get up, 'cause if we gotta get up-"

"-you gotta get up." blonde twin finished. "It's only fair."

5:45. Kakashi said 6:30, which really meant 12:30. He still had sooo much time to sleep in. "Why... why have you bestowed this curse on me?" He asked any deity in any religion. He would convert to any one of those religions if they just let him sleep...

"C'mon! We gotta go train and stuff." Eiji tugged on Naruto's ears like he was two years old, sitting right in his back and Koji tugged on Naruto's arm from the side of his bed.

"Oh my god, you guys are eight years old, not three!" Naruto whined.

"Duh." Koji rolled his eyes. "We just wanna annoy you."

"You wake up faster that way." Eiji added.

"I hate you both." Naruto deadpanned jokingly.

"Quit being a little girl!" Koji ordered. "Get up! We'll meet you at the lake in twenty minutes!"

"You better be there!" Eiji warned. "And no Kage Bunshin either!"

Naruto sighed in defeat. "Alright, alright. Just get off of me please."

Eiji hopped off of Naruto's bed. "Hurry up! Clock's ticking."

This day was turning out to be a great start.

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

Naruto was both appalled and angry once he arrived at the lake he frequented. Instead of warming up, they were swimming.

And there Kakashi was, reading his stupid book and letting this happen! Though, to be fair, the Jōnin probably didn't know why the twins randomly showed up at 6 in the morning.

Naruto stomped over to the banks of the lake, passing Kakashi on his way. "Yo."

Naruto's evil eye made Kakashi sigh and return his attention to his book. "In a good mood I see..."

"Oi! What the hell are two doing!?" Naruto's voice echoed through the large clearing.

Both twins looked toward Naruto. "Swimming." They answered together, slightly confused.

Naruto crossed his arms. "Wasting time!" He corrected. "You could've used this time to warm up!"

They looked at each other and then back to Naruto, shrugging. "Whoops?" Koji voiced.

Naruto shook his head. "Get out."

The boys complied, sloping their pants back on.

"If you want me to train you, you're gonna take it seriously or I won't bother. Got it?"

The twins stiffened and saluted. "Hai, sensei!"

"Warm up."

The boys nodded and began stretching.

Naruto walked to the bench and sat down. "Sensei, huh?" Kakashi turned the page.

Naruto glanced at Kakashi, and then to the book. "How many times have you read that?"

"Hmm..." Kakashi pondered. "I don't actually know, but not enough."

Naruto rolled his eyes. He leaned back and put his hands behind his head. "They woke me up at 5:45 and ordered me to train them."

"Well, at least you listen to someone."

Naruto glared for a moment. "Anyways... any tips?"

Kakashi closed his book and gently, gently placed it in his pack. (Rumor has it that he has a special slot for it that stores it in an alternate dimension where time has stopped just to keep it in pristine condition and protected, but easily accessible.)

"Well, you should start by assessing their skills." Kakashi began. "And then from there, just torture them until they don't want want to train with you anymore. That's how I get rid of annoying hopefuls."

Naruto stared at Kakashi, blinking in astonishment. This man... was crazy. Officially crazy. "I don't mind training them..."

"Oh. Well that's a different story all together." Kakashi replied. "Just tone down the torture to rigorous exercise. Their bodies need to be in top shape before they can learn Jutsu. Plus, that'll help build their chakra pool and develop their coils. Put them on a healthy diet and a strict sleep schedule."

Naruto stared once more in astonishment. "How come never did that with me..."

"I didn't feel like it."

Naruto's mind snapped.

He just accepted it.

Moving on...

"What about Taijutsu?" Naruto asked.

"Work it into their regimen. Develop their balance, their flexibility and precision with katas in extreme situations." Kakashi suggested. "Have them spar on wires or run through forms on poles."

Naruto nodded. Those were actually good suggestions.

"The biggest thing you should stress is teamwork." Kakashi added. Naruto noticed the Jōnin's voice dip in seriousness ever so slightly. "They should never do anything alone."

"Right." Naruto agreed.

"I want you to understand that as well." Kakashi spoke with all seriousness now. "Our new teammates aren't as advanced as you are, but don't think you won't need them."

"Where's this coming from?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi stared off into the lake for a long moment. "I just don't want you to make a fatal mistake and do something stupid."

Naruto's brow furrowed, searching Kakashi's face for any clues as to what the hell that meant. "I don't make mistakes." He refuted arrogantly.

There was a tense silence.

"Niisan! We're ready!"

Naruto's gaze lingered as Kakashi stood up. "Everyone makes mistakes." He corrected. "Come on, I'll help out with the training for a bit."

Suspicion and fear crawled into Naruto's chest. What did Kakashi know... and if he did know something, did he tell his dad?

Naruto shook his head lightly. No. Kakashi was the closest person to Naruto outside of Noya. He trusted Kakashi to not sell him out.

Naruto breathed his fears away and stood up.

"Alright ladies! A hundred laps around the lake! You have twenty minutes!" Naruto smirked sadistically. "Clock is ticking."

"Ladies?" Eiji questioned.

"That's seriously the best you got?" Koji added.

Naruto's vein popped. "Start running or I'll drown you both!"

That did it.

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

12:30 rolled around quicker than expected. Turns out torturing the twins was a good way to pass some time. For Naruto, at least. Koji and Eiji probably begged time to speed up.

Naruto began to think of all the positive things that came with this training. His mother would be much less flustered as the twins would definitely be a lot calmer having been exhausted by Naruto for six hours, so her demon form would be seen... and felt... much less often which in turn meant that his father wouldn't have to calm Kushina down in fear of her homicidal potential and Naruto's nerves would be normal as he wouldn't be scared frozen when the demon emerged to satiate its hunger for human blood. It was win-win for everyone, even the twins who would grow strong and hopefully mature.

Naruto begged the same deities that it wasn't just hopeful thinking.

Naruto pushed his thoughts aside as he walked through the tree line into the training grounds, a bit surprised to see who was waiting. The black haired Uchiha turned and his eyebrow slightly rose. "Naruto?"

Naruto actually felt a massive wave of relief. His teammate was Uchiha Sasuke. He couldn't have asked for a better one. Naruto smiled. "Sasuke. Here I was expecting useless teammates."

Sasuke smirked. Praise from Namikaze Naruto was nearly as rare as it was from Itachi.

The other team member stepped forward. A pink haired girl with a red dress... thing on. She bowed politely. "I'm Haruno Sakura, it's a pleasure to meet you, Naruto-kun."

He assessed her for a moment. She wasn't physically strong nor did she display any physical attributes of speed. She seemed much too delicate for combat. "You're a medic?"

She nodded. "Just starting to be." She answered with a blush. "I-I don't know much yet."

Naruto smiled. "Nice to meet you, Sakura-chan. And it's just Naruto, okay?"

"Then, it's just Sakura." She smiled back. "Have you met our sensei yet?" She asked curiously. "Because he said he'd be here at 6:30..."

"Met him? Sometimes I wish I never did." He muttered. "Lesson number one on surviving Hatake Kakashi; he's always late."

"Hn." Sasuke frowned. "What kind of Jōnin can't even be bothered to show up on time?"

"One who never gets in trouble." Naruto answered.

Both Sasuke and Sakura adopted a worried, though questioning look.

"Hatake Kakashi is the strongest active Jōnin in the village." Naruto explained. "Now that he's retired from ANBU."

Sasuke's brow furrowed just a bit. He had a hard time believing that. There's no way this guy is more powerful than Shisui or Itachi...

"An... bu?" Saskura repeated curiously.

"Elite shinobi answerable only to the Hokage. They hide in the shadows and protect Konoha without being seen or heard. And sometimes they assassinate people."

"Oh..." Sakura voiced. If sensei was one of those guys... he must be strong.

Naruto shrugged and stretched his arms behind his head. "I wouldn't worry too much about him." He walked to the wooden post and sat down on the floor, lounging against the wood.

"You seem pretty confident that you're gonna pass this test." Sasuke noted.

"Huh?" Naruto glanced up at Sasuke with an eyebrow rose. "What test?"

"The test sensei said determines whether or not we become shinobi." Sakura elaborated. "He said most students fail."

"To become a shinobi...? I've been a Chūnin for four years..." Naruto muttered.

Sasuke and Sakura's eyes shot wide.

 _A... Chūnin? I-impossible..._ Sasuke's thoughts were clearly on his face. Four years. _That means he was... nine years old when he became a Chunin. That's an entire year before Itachi..._

"What the hell could he mean by that?" Naruto asked himself. He shook his head in exasperation. Kakashi-baka...

Naruto's expression became worried. "Unless... I've been demoted..." He said lowly.

A frown instantly came onto Naruto's face.

"Maa, it's nothing like that, Naruto."

Sakura and Sasuke backed away in shock at seeing Kakashi suddenly crouching on the post Naruto was leaning on.

 _One second, there was nothing there, and the next..._ Sakura stared in fearful wonder.

 _So... this is a Jōnin._ Sasuke clenched his fist. _I have to stay on guard._

"If not, then what the hell are they talking about?" Naruto looked up at Kakashi.

"Oh, that." Kakashi voiced. He hopped off the stump. "Well, orders from the top just came in. You've got your first mission in four years, Naruto, how's it feel?"

Naruto glared suspiciously. "What are you up to?"

"Me? Nothing." Kakashi smiled. That was never a good thing...

Kakashi's face suddenly went serious. "Danzo-sama has put this year's Genin on his list."

"What list?" Sakura asked. "Who's Danzo?"

Naruto stood and stared at the Jōnin. That was an obvious scare tactic. "Why?" He demanded in a low voice.

The Jōnin shrugged. "It's not my job to question orders." Kakashi answered simply.

Naruto stared at Kakashi and then at Sasuke and Sakura who were staring in confusion. _This is the test. But why pit me against them?_

"Well?" Kakashi asked expectingly.

 _To assess their skills?_ Naruto asked himself. _No, he already has a basic understanding of their limitations. I guess I'll have to play along for now._ "Fine." Naruto said in a low voice.

He stared at Sasuke who was confused as to what was going on. There was absolutely no way he was going to kill anybody. It didn't make sense... why would Kakashi let Naruto beat on the Genin for no reason? "Sasuke... since our family's have a history, I'll give you a chance to ready yourself."

Sasuke tensed. _W-what?_

"Honorable." Kakashi commented. "I suggest you take it."

No time for questions. Sasuke leapt back and crouched defensively.

"W-what's going on?" Sakura asked shakily.

"Hm?" Kakashi turned to her. "Well, I guess it's only fair you get the same warning."

Her eyes widened.

"Limited time offer."

Sakura steadied herself and jumped back as well.

"Looks like you have this under control." Kakashi said. "So I'll be leaving now."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. What's your play, Kakashi-baka?

The Jōnin disappeared in a swirl.

Tension built quickly as Naruto glared and Sasuke held his defensive stance. He didn't want to admit it, but he was definitely nervous facing the Hokage's son, and Naruto was very interested to see just what the youngest Uchiha from the head family was capable of.

Naruto smirked, cracking his knuckles. Sasuke only tensed even more at the act.

Naruto used that moment to burst forward. Best to get this started and find out what Kakashi was planning.

Sasuke's eyes widened. _He's fast.._.

He tossed out two kunai.

Naruto weaved between them with a twist of his body. His eyes narrowed.

Sasuke was in front of him, crouched low and sweeping his foot across the ground. Force me into an awkward position and capitalize. _Smart_.

Naruto hopped up and shot his foot right into Sasuke's face. The Uchiha skid back, bouncing before managing to flip to his feet. He glared right at Naruto, wiping the smudge of blood from his lip. _He read that attack like a book. Then it's true. He's no ordinary shinobi._

Sasuke's eyes widened in fear as he noticed Sakura rushing in. "Wait! Sakura!"

Naruto glanced toward the Kunoichi dashing at him, poised to strike at him with a kunai. He shifted backward, grabbed onto her wrist and tossed her off balance, taking the kunai out of her hand as he let her fall.

Shock crept onto Naruto's face at that moment. Before Sakura even hit the ground, Sasuke was behind him, his shin flying at Naruto's face. _He used her as a distraction!_

Naruto spun quickly, tossing his hand out and catching Sasuke's shin and thrusting with Sakura's kunai.

Sasuke threw his body back and launched his free foot up toward Naruto's chin. Naruto was forced to let go of Sasuke's shin and shift backward to avoid being hit.

Sasuke flipped and landed on his feet.

Naruto stared at Sasuke and wondered if he'd noticed...

There was only one way to find out.

It was time to show Sasuke why he was a Chunin. "It's over."

Sasuke's fists clenched in anticipation.

Naruto crouched and swung his arm around, launching the Kunai at Sasuke at intense speeds.

Sasuke managed to barely shift out of it's way.

But a cold chill ran through him.

Somehow, Naruto had gotten so close that he was able to grab onto Sasuke's shin, reaching his other hand out to catch the kunai he'd thrown. Naruto yanked Sasuke's footing from beneath him and brought the kunai in his hand searing toward the back of Sasuke's neck. Sasuke managed to spin and face his attacker.

Naruto was sure it was over, but then he saw two kunai in Sasuke's hands, each with explosive tags on them. _What are you thinking? Those will kill you too!_

Naruto released Sasuke and jumped up and away. Sasuke threw the explosive knives right after Naruto.

 _Tch. What a waste._ The two kunai were practically in front of Naruto when they detonated.

Sasuke had landed on all fours. And he smirked.

As he thought, Naruto was to his left again. "Too easy..."

Sasuke's smirk remained and Naruto's eyes narrowed for a moment before he realized what he'd just walked into. "Katon! Gokkakyu no Jutsu!"

 _What?!_

The fireball scorched out of Sasuke's mouth. Naruto haphazardly launched himself backward with the flames chasing him closely. He weaved through seals at a blinding rate in a panic. "Futon! Diatoppa!"

Naruto inhaled a massive breath, and just as the fireball was about to collide with him, he exhaled a powerful gust of wind that ignited upon contact with Sasuke's fire, but strong enough to push the flames away from Naruto.

Sasuke found himself facing a storm of blazing wind. Sasuke ran through his options.

Too late!

He braced himself and shut his eyes. The wind smashed into him like a wall, sending him careening backward as the flames licked at his skin.

He tumbled to the floor and immediately curled into a ball instinctively at the pain in his chest, very aware of the burns that still smoked off of his body.

 _That should've killed me..._ After a moment of pushing down his pain, he stood up wobbly.

Naruto stared at Sasuke, a bit in shock himself. _He figured out Hiraishin after seeing it just one time. He lives up to the Uchiha name, I'll give him that._

"Sasuke!" Sakura was at his side, grabbing his arm and pulling around her shoulder. "Sasuke, you're hurt. Let me patch you up."

Sasuke scowled. "There's no use." His eyes rested on Naruto standing a few yards away with a trail of charred grass separating him from the Genin. He was still completely unscathed. Sasuke was hard pressed to believe that he'd never even got close to touching the Hokage's son. "He's not gonna let you."

"We can't just give up." She scolded. "He might be strong, but we can beat him together!"

Realization came crashing down on Naruto at that moment.

"The biggest thing you should stress is teamwork - never do anything alone."

 _So that's why... It doesn't matter if Danzō's orders are fake, he wants to see if I'll disobey his orders to save my team._

Naruto glanced around suspiciously. _That means he'll attack if I do turn on him... after I attacked Sasuke and Sakura, he wants to see if they can put their mistrust to the side and work with me. Damn you Kakashi-baka._ Naruto growled silently in irritation. _I figured this out too late. I let Kakashi hide and I injured Sasuke. Naruto eyed the Uchiha. He was the best chance we had if we even wanted to get close to beating Kakashi._

"K'sou..." Naruto ground his teeth. "Sakura, heal him."

She blinked. "Huh!?"

Naruto scowled as the feeling in his chest got tighter. "Heal him! Kakashi is-"

Naruto jumped backward, instantly reacting to the light vibration under his feet. Sure enough, he narrowly evaded Kakashi's kunai as the Jōnin shot up from underground.

Naruto dashed away.

Kakashi smiled at him. "So. You figured it out."

"That's a dirty trick." Naruto glowered. "Using me to weaken them."

Kakashi shrugged. "I figured I'd let you do the dirty work." He simply replied.

"So what now?"

"Now you dodge."

Naruto didn't even wait to see what Kakashi was planning. He just flashed and landed next to Sasuke. Both he and Sakura flinched. Naruto assessed the situation. He'd used up more chakra than he would've liked. Hiraishin took precise chakra control or it ate through chakra. Naruto admittedly didn't have the perfect chakra control to continuously use it in prolonged battles, it was meant to end fights quickly. And that jutsu didn't help with that problem either.

"Listen to me. This was a test for all of us." Naruto began. "He wants to see if you'll help me after I tried to kill you."

"How do we know?" Sasuke asked as Sakura finished wrapping up the burns of his arm. "Blindly trusting you could also be the test."

"It could be, but you don't know." Naruto agreed. "Your only option right now is to play along. Either way, you're in my hands."

Sasuke frowned. "Hn." He knew it was true, however. He never expected Naruto - the loud, mischievous kid he used to know to turn into such a powerful shinobi at such a young age. There was a sharp pang of jealousy of the blonde, and yet, also a strong sense of respect, the same way one may respect the sea while on a boat. They were at it's mercy.

Sasuke's pride took quite the beating at his inability to bring out Naruto's full strength. He had no idea how strong Naruto could be...

Naruto was correct, however. If Naruto was part of Kakashi's test or not, Sasuke was damned if he trusted Naruto and damned if he didn't. "Fine." He conceded. "What do we do?"

"Just follow my lead."

Sasuke nodded.

"Sakura, find a safe place to hide, but don't lose sight of us." Naruto said.

She nodded. "Hai."

"Wait... where'd he go?" Sasuke stared into the clearing where Kakashi was once standing.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. He scanned the area, senses completely on guard. And then his eyes came across a small piece of paper taped to the log.

Naruto cautiously approached it and pulled it off of the log.

 _"Now you have a team to help you find me."_

Naruto crumpled the paper, his face turning red. "Really?!" He asked nobody in particular. "This is how you want to test our teamwork?"

"What? What's the test?" Sakura asked.

Naruto rubbed his temples to calm himself down. He couldn't believe Kakashi... "Shinobi hide and seek..."

Sakura fell and Sasuke slapped his forehead.

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —- - —**

From the tree line, Kakashi smiled to himself. He's already bonding with them. Maybe you were right, sensei... maybe he isn't like me after all. He watched them formulate strategies on how to track Kakashi and places he frequented to narrow down their search.

Admirable, he had to admit. He wondered how long they would search for him before realizing he planned to go home and take a nap.

Oh, he loved torturing cute little Genin. And Naruto too, of course.

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

Uchiha Sasuke was mad. Not at Naruto, but at the massive gap of strength between the two. Training sessions proved the blonde's superiority, missions drive that proof home. Sometimes Naruto didn't even show up, he'd just send a Kage Bunshin to do his daily D-ranks. How unfair was that? And what was worse was that Kakashi didn't seem to give a flying you know what about it. Here Sasuke and Sakura were working their asses off pulling weeds and catching demon cats and Naruto was off... doing whatever it was Naruto did on his free time. Which was all the time.

In the evenings - when Naruto did bother to show up - Naruto would leave early without saying much and Sasuke would catch a strange interaction between him and Kakashi. Well, more a reaction from Kakashi than anything. When Naruto left, Kakashi would watch watch the blonde walk away with a strange look in his eye and Naruto would pretend not to notice it.

Curiosity burned inside of Sasuke. What could possibly be so damn important for Naruto to leave and Kakashi to worry? Surely Naruto could protect himself from most threats, right?

Sasuke's first attempt on following Naruto was fruitless. He wasn't sure if the young Chūnin had noticed him or if he was purposely trying to make sure he didn't have a tail. The second time, Sasuke hardly got two steps out of the training grounds before Naruto had disappeared.

Sasuke decided he'd probably never find out. Besides, Naruto's problems shouldn't bother Sasuke. He was just looking for something that could give him an edge over the prodigious son of the Hokage. Itachi had berated Sasuke for that. The only thing he should be looking for to gain an edge was power and will inside his own self, not exploitation and backhanded tactics. It was beneath an Uchiha to treat a comrade with such disrespect.

When Sasuke thought about it, he had to agree.

As much as it ground his gears to the point of near insanity, he had to acknowledge Naruto as his better. The consolation was that at least Sasuke was beaten by not just the Hokage's son, but the legendary Konoha no Kiiroi Senkō's son. The man who single handedly won the Third Shinobi World War. It was an honor, frankly to be beaten by someone from that family. Sasuke was just grateful that it was Naruto beating him and not one of his psychotic brothers. How embarrassing would that be?

Sasuke pushed himself off of the wall he'd been leaning on for the past few minutes. Early for the usual meeting times as usual (though technically hours late because of Kakashi's whacked out schedule,) gave him time to just walk and think and be alone without feeling the constant pressure of expectations all around him. Even if he was alone inside of his home, he felt like his father was displeased with something he didn't do to absolute perfection all the way at the Uchiha Police Force HQ.

It was freeing being away from that kind of stress.

Sasuke found himself wandering through Konoha rather aimlessly, though he didn't mind not having a destination. Spontaneity was something he rarely enjoyed. Eventually, he was regretting his sudden racy decision.

He was lost.

Not necessarily lost as in he couldn't find his way back, he could just as easily hop on to a rooftop and gauge his position from there, but lost in the sense that this was a new side of Konohagakure he either hadn't been to or didn't remember. He continued on, interested in the scenery around him. Restaurants he'd never seen, useful shinobi shops and specialty goods stores, and even shinobi-only zones.

The buildings eventually became less frequent and Sasuke strolled through an undeveloped section of Konoha with clusters of trees above the green grass. It was serene. In his Compound, the greenery surrounding the acres of land his house sat on was just as beautiful, if not more so due to the meticulous landscaping. But it always carried the same weight his house did. Now, he was able to enjoy nature without that tension.

Now Sasuke understood why Naruto spoke so fondly of places like this.

Sasuke's thoughts paused as his gaze caught a familiar mop of blonde disappearing into the woods.

Naruto was nearby?

Sasuke internally sighed. Now he was going to look like a stalker.

Sasuke dashed into the woods after Naruto, disappearing into the leaves for cover.

A large clearing came into Sasuke's view from his cover within the shadow of the trees. The lake in the center was rather large, bigger than the one behind his house, and clearer at that. Smooth stones rested at the bottom of the lake which was easily visible through the water. It was serene.

Sasuke jumped to the floor and walked into the clearing, finding Naruto sitting in a bench, his head resting on his hands clasped behind it. Beside him was an older boy, an adult, actually. Late teens or early twenties. Sasuke noted the scar on the side of his face, spreading up his temple and disappearing into his black, shaggy hair. He was wearing a dark, brown, trendy jacket with the sleeves rolled up into cuffs just above his elbow.

Sasuke wondered if this was a family friend or something.

By the looks of it, the two were joking, tossing clever insults back and forth in the midst of small talk.

Suddenly, Sasuke felt like he was intruding.

Just as he turned to leave, the older one turned his head and looked right at the Uchiha. He nudged Naruto and nodded toward Sasuke, saying something he couldn't hear. Naruto flipped the older boy off and turned and craned an eyebrow. "Sasuke?" He asked loud enough for him to hear. "Something wrong?"

Sasuke smacked himself internally. "No. Gomen, I didn't know you were here."

"Oh." Naruto's voice was a bit confused. "How'd you get in?"

"What do you mean?"

Naruto stood and stretched his arms and waved Sasuke over. "This is Namikaze property." He explained.

Sasuke's eyes closed with a quiet sigh. Of course it was. No he was an über stalker.

Naruto shrugged. "Oh well. Probably knew you were my teammate." He concluded.

"Or Yondiame-sama's ANBU are getting rusty." The older boy suggested.

"Let me guess, you wanna replace them?" Naruto asked sarcastically.

"Well yeah. Hey, put in a good word for me."

"Right." Naruto rolled his eyes.

Sasuke stood next to the bench feeling very out of place and embarrassed.

The older boy scanned over Sasuke. "So this is him, eh? The one who nearly hit you."

Sasuke contained his surprise. So he did make Naruto work in that fight.

"Aa. He's fierce."

"Hm." The older boy smirked. "An Uchiha. You have a crush on him too?"

Naruto blushed. "Shut up, Noya. I was nine."

Noya chuckled.

"Sasuke, this is Akashita Noya, one of my former teammates."

Sasuke nodded once in acknowledgment.

"Noya, this is Uchiha Sasuke."

"Friendly one, aren't you?" Noya jabbed lightly.

"Maa, Noya. Don't piss him off. He'll definitely beat you." Naruto smirked.

"I resent that." Noya replied with a point of his finger. "Besides, I'm not sure even you can beat me anymore."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly. Naruto was able to beat someone this much older than him...

"Especially if you're letting Genin hit you."

Naruto frowned. "Well, I didn't want to use lethal force. Besides, he's Uchiha Itachi's younger brother. You shouldn't underestimate him."

Noya's eyes widened in shock. He turned back to Sasuke. "No shit..."

"Aa. You can only guess he's as strong as Itachi was at that age." Naruto smirked.

"Now that's bull." Noya chuckled.

Sasuke frowned. He absolutely loathed being compared to Itachi.

"Itachi-sempai was Taicho at that age."

"Just wait." Naruto smirked at Sasuke. "The minute he unlocks the Sharingan, I'll probably have to go all out to beat him."

Sasuke smiled lightly and gratefully. That statement was probably not the truth, but it was nice to have someone stick up for him.

"That thing is hax." Noya muttered. "Remember when Shiori unlocked her's?"

Naruto nodded with a sigh. "How could I forget? She almost killed me."

"And me." Noya added. "She was pretty strong now that I think about it. A lot stronger than me."

"Everyone was stronger than you." Naruto quipped.

"I resent that." He arched an eyebrow.

Naruto just rolled his eyes.

Noya gazed off into the lake with a small, sad smile appearing on his face. "Do you think she achieved her goal?"

"To surpass me?" Naruto asked. Noya nodded. "I dunno. I was too scared to find out."

Noya huffed in amusement. "She was something else, that's for sure."

Naruto glanced down, kicking a rock into the lake. "That's for sure."

Noya sighed and pushed himself up. "I should probably go. Got a lot of drug dealers to catch." He said while stretching his arms out. He lightly pushed Naruto with a fond grin. "Try not to get in too much trouble."

"You must not know me that well."

Noya shook his head. He turned to Sasuke. "Nice meeting you." He gave a lazy, two finger salute.

Sasuke nodded once more.

Noya fluttered away in a hail of leaves.

Naruto just huffed, amused at his friend before turning to the lake, bending over to pick up a rock. "You weren't following me this time, how'd you find me?" He asked curiously, tossing the stone in a steep arc. A light splash sounded.

Sasuke moved to stand beside Naruto. "Coincidence." He simply said, picking up his own stone and throwing it into the water.

"Oh. I see. I thought you wanted to hang out." Naruto replied with a small hint of disappointment in his voice. He reached down to pull up another rock.

Sasuke glanced at Naruto for a moment before watching Naruto's rock fly through the air. He got the feeling that Naruto didn't have many friends. Neither did Sasuke, but most likely for completely different reasons. Sasuke didn't necessarily think he needed friends.

Interesting that Naruto did.

Sasuke swiped up another stone, tossing it up and catching it in his hand. "I have a question."

Naruto turned his attention to the Uchiha.

"Promise you'll answer honestly."

"Alright." Naruto agreed.

Sasuke gazed down at the rock before cocking his arm back and sending it rocketing along the water's surface.

Naruto smirked. "Good arm."

"Hn." Sasuke straightened his back. "You said earlier that the reason I was so close to getting a hit on you was because you weren't using lethal force." Sasuke's did nothing to hide his frown. "We're you toying with me back then?"

Naruto could see the disappointment on Sasuke's face like he already knew the answer to his own question. Uchiha pride was something not easily achieved, but incredibly easy to damage. Naruto hated to be the one to do it. "What exactly do you mean by toying?"

Sasuke just smirked knowingly. At least he was honest. "Thanks." He said lowly. "For not lying."

Naruto nodded. "I'd hate it if someone lied to me about that." He took up another rock and launched it like Sasuke had. It skipped once on the surface and smacked against a tree on the opposite side.

Sasuke frowned.

Naruto smirked and nudged Sasuke with his elbow. "Let me know when you can make it to the other side." He joked in mock arrogance. "Cause the next time we fight, I won't be toying with you."

Sasuke crossed his arms with the same arrogance. "Namikaze Naruto..." He muttered. "The next time we fight, I'll be the one toying with you."

Naruto nodded slowly. That prospect seemed exciting. "Like that could ever happen." He grinned smugly.

"Hn." Sasuke's eyes closed. "I'll make you choke on those words."

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

Naruto vaguely remembered a time when D-Rank missions were all he was allowed to do. The Hokage was incredibly protective of him, annoyingly so. Or maybe it was his mom threatening his dad to limit Naruto's missions. Either way, he remembered being so disappointed with shinobi life. There were no epic battles based on skill and perception where the slightest wrong move meant defeat. There was no rescuing any princess's or foiling assassinations and kidnapping. No, it was just community service.

Pulling weeds required shinobi, and apparently so did saving kittens from trees and helping old ladies cross the street... cleaning up after big events. It was basically doing the villages chores. For weeks, Naruto and his former teammates endured the most tedious and annoyingly dull missions that existed. And yet somehow they still managed to exhaust the team. It was for that reason Naruto took to the memory of Hiroaki-sensei and left a shadow clone in his stead.

Training sessions were a different experience altogether. Scheduled at 6:30, training began at 8:30, if Kaksshi was in a good mood. Sometimes it was 1:30 in the afternoon. But knowing this would be a persistent issue, Kakashi gave them a strict regimen to complete each day, and they wouldn't need him to do it.

Or... maybe that was the point.

Naruto couldn't follow that regimen. Well, he could, he just didn't. He spent mornings training his brothers until they could no longer stand, and then he would follow his own vigorous regimen; a mixture of his old team's daily exercise, some things he'd learned from watching his father in his younger years, tips he'd got from Kakashi (that man was super secretive of his training, intensely so,) and some stuff he created himself. Basically, he tortured himself.

Torture into D-Rank torture was not a fun thing to do. He did not envy Sasuke or Sakura. Though, he did feel a bit bad for Sakura.

Sasuke had his own training before and after his time with Team 7 with Fugaku-sama. Naruto had a distinct edge with Kakashi on call. Sakura had nothing outside of Kakashi, who wasn't available a lot of the time and didn't specialize in medical Jutsu. That wouldn't do. Naruto couldn't have her being a weak link. Nobody would fight at peak efficiency if they had to keep a constant eye on Sakura.

Naruto planned to fix that.

He waited for a few days for the Hokage to have some free time and decided to pay Minato a visit while his shadow clone did Naruto's dirty work. Literally.

Naruto popped inside of the Hokage's office with a flash.

Minato lifted his gaze from whatever papers he was looking at. "Naruto?" He was confused. Glancing around the room, he searched for something. "I removed all of your formulas years ago... where is it?"

Naruto saw opportunity, the doppelganger inside of his head rubbing his hands together with an evil grin.

He pointed down. "Under the carpet."

Minato sighed. "Clever."

Naruto sat down.

"Oh. This is an official visit."

He nodded.

Minato moved his files from in front of him. "Official complaints are received by reception, Naruto." He grinned playfully.

"That's why Kakashi-baka never gets in trouble, then." Naruto chuckled. "I've been using the wrong channels."

Minato shrugged playfully. "How can I help you, Namikaze Naruto-San?"

"Well, Hokage-sama, I would like to put in a personal request."

"We've discussed this, Naruto. We are not making Ramen the official food of Konoha."

Naruto's brow furrowed with a slight frown. "Tousan..."

Minato laughed. "I'm sorry. I couldn't resist."

"Anyways... I've been thinking. Sasuke and I both have methods of training outside of Team sessions. Sasuke's gonna progress very quickly, but-"

"Haruno Sakura won't." Minato finished. "Sou ka. You want me to reassign a spare Kunoichi to help out."

Naruto nodded.

Minato sighed regretfully. "I can't show your team any special treatment. I'm already getting flack from the Shinobi Council for putting you, Kakashi and Sasuke on the same team. They think I'm giving your team an advantage over the rest." He explained.

Naruto's eyes closed and he ran his fingers through his hair.

"So officially, I can't help you." Minato grabbed the files from his desk. "If you'll excuse me, Namikaze-san, I'm expecting a surprise visit from my son."

Naruto rolled his eyes with a grin. "Alright, alright. What's your advice?"

"There's plenty of Kunoichi in the village would take on a part time apprentice. Just ask." Minato offered.

"Like who?" Naruto pried.

"I don't know, Naruto. You're on your own with this one." Minato answered. He shrugged. "Ask your mother."

Naruto envisioned Sakura and his mother training. And then he envisioned his mother's demon form being passed on to her. He paled. "That's... a thought."

"I'm serious. She trained you, didn't she?"

"Yes, and it haunts my dreams every night." Naruto shuddered.

"Maa, maa, Naruto. You're overreacting."

Naruto gave his father an astounded stare.

Minato conceded with a nod. "Okay, I see your point... but you can't say it wouldn't be effective."

It would be, Naruto had to admit. Uzumaki Kushina had quite the skill set, and the several stories he'd heard about her from his father and a few others, Uzumaki Kushina was an incredibly powerful ninja. Even the Sannin recognized her as their potential equal. With people like Uchiha Itachi and Hatake Kakashi at Sasuke and Naruto's disposal, Kushina would be a good fit.

"Alright. I'll ask. The moment she turns Sakura into the... Pink Habanero or something, I'm coming for you."

Minato's eyebrow rose. "Pink Habanero..."

Naruto pointed threateningly and stood. "You shush."

He flashed away.

Minato glanced around his office just to make sure. Standing up, he walked around his desk and sliced a small hole in the carpet.

His eyes closed and he breathed a deep sigh. There was no Hiraishin formula here, and now there was a hole in his carpet.

Somewhere, Naruto was sniggering.

I have to be more careful. His pranks are getting more and more refined.

But then his eyebrow rose. _How the hell did he flash in?_

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

As per the usual, Team 7 stood in front of the former Hokage who enjoyed presiding over the academy and fresh Genin, as one of his Chūnin helpers listed off the wonderfully, amazingly, interesting D-rank missions available.

"Babysitting. Dog walking. Sanitation duty. Weed pulling-"

Naruto held up his hand and shook his head. "No, no, no. We're done with all that crap."

His team looked over to him, both Sasuke and Sakura having an exasperated look of agreement.

Kakashi sighed. "Gomen, gomen, Sandiame-sama." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Naruto forgot to take his medicine."

Naruto glared up at Kakashi.

"It's quite alright, Kakashi-san." Hiruzen chuckled lightly before turning to Naruto. "I understand this situation must be frustrating for you as you're used to taking more dangerous missions."

Naruto nodded along.

"However, you have been inactive for a number of years." Hiruzen reminded. "Given your circumstances, both Minato-san and I agree that easing you back into this lifestyle is best. Throwing you into B-rank missions-"

"I'm not talking about B-rank missions, Jiji." Naruto interjected. "I just want to get out of this place for once! And I know these two are sick of pulling weeds." Naruto motioned to his team members who just nodded. Even Kakashi agreed.

Sarutobi gave Team 7 a once-over with a pondering look on his face. "And you believe your Genin team members are ready for such a mission?"

"What, defending against bandits?" Naruto scoffed. "Sakura can take on fifty of those low lives herself!"

She smiled widely at the praise.

"They were ready for C-ranks the moment they graduated." Naruto confidently declared.

Hiruzen inwardly chuckled fondly. This was the Naruto he remembered. "Kakashi?"

Kakashi tilted his head and turned his palms to the roof. "He's got a point, Sandiame-sama."

"See?" Naruto added. "Even Kakashi-baka agrees."

Kakashi smacked his knuckles on top of Naruto's head.

"Sou ka." Sarutobi smirked. "Fine. I have just the mission. You'll be guarding someone very important."

"Hm?" Naruto's eyebrow rose. "Important, eh?"

"Aa. Very important." Hiruzen locked his knuckles and rested his chin on them.

Naruto shrugged. "Great. So long as I can get some fresh air, we can be protecting Daimyo-sama."

"Good. Then you and Tazuna-san will get along great." Sarutobi waved and one of the shinobi opened a door behind the group.

The pot-bellied, drunken man glared over the team, skepticism blaring from behind his glasses. He gulped down a swig of his sake. "This is the group? A bunch of brats?"

"Tch." Sasuke crossed his arms alongside Naruto, both unimpressed.

"That small one doesn't look like he can protect a fly!"

Small one?

Naruto glanced around. _Sasuke... no, Sakura?_

No.

 _Me?!_

Definitely the shortest.

His fist squeezed and his vein popped out. "What did you say?!"

The man smirked victoriously. "I said, you're so small, you can't even protect a fly."

"Konoyaro!" Naruto's fist tightened. Flames of hatred lit in his eyes. "You're gonna need the Hokage to protect you from me!"

Kakashi sighed and scratched the back of his head, shaking it in exasperation. "I assure you, Tazuna-san, you're well protected. I'm a Jōnin."

Tazuna's eyes narrowed as he glanced at Kakashi. "Hm. We'll see about that."

"I'm gonna kill him. I swear I'm gonna kill him."

"Naruto, you can't kill the client." Kakashi reminded. "You're supposed to protect them."

Naruto crossed his arms indignantly. "We'll see how I'm feeling when someone attacks."

Sakura and Sasuke stared dumbfounded.

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

Ten minutes.

That's how long Naruto had to pull this off.

Just as promised, a small scroll sealing the information Noya promised to give was waiting at the clearing under the lake.

 _"Danzō_ _-sama is trying to track his location and verify his identity before he gets the Hokage involved." Noya's voice was low and his face set in seriousness. "He's getting closer to Konoha."_

 _Naruto frowned dangerously._

 _"_ _We have the trajectory. I won't give it you now."_

 _Naruto nodded in agreement. "Kakashi is too perceptive."_

 _"Aa. I'll seal it under the lake-" Noya paused, glancing behind him. "We've got company."_

 _"Uchiha Sasuke." Naruto replied. "He's been curious the last few days, I have to keep track of him."_

 _"Sou ka." Noya closed his eyes for a moment, and the air lifted significantly. "He must have a crush on you."_

 _Naruto jabbed Noya in the shoulder and flipped him off. "Konoyaro."_

Naruto surfaced, jumping out of the lake and coming to rest in the forest.

He observed the scroll. This was his ticket. This was his revenge.

Weaving a few hand-seals, the scroll disappeared in a puff of smoke. He then dispelled the various Kage Bunshin spread throughout the village and created just one. The clone jumped off into the distance toward the front gates.

Naruto pulled on a black cloak. This is it.

He was gone without so much as the slightest sound.

Naruto arrived at the front gates just as Sasuke and Sakura did. To all three's surprise, Kakashi was already there.

"Oi, Kakashi-baka!" Naruto called out. Said baka turned to Naruto. "You're on time..."

For a moment, Kakashi eyed Naruto, his suspicion peaking...

Internally, he shook his head. Naruto wasn't stupid, he wouldn't make a move so openly. "No. You're just late." Kakashi smiled. He waved the group over and turned around. "Better get moving." He pulled out that god forsaken, orange book of his. "I can't wait to find out what happens."

Then again... maybe he was wrong.

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**


	3. Arrogance

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

 **Arrogance**

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

Naruto glared at the back of Kakashi's head. _You've read that book a million times._

"Hasn't he already read that book?" Sakura asked, pointing as the three set off behind Kakashi and Tazuna.

Naruto just shoved his hands in his pocket and frowned. "He's been reading that stupid book since I was nine." He muttered.

"He hasn't finished it?"

"Oh, he's finished it." Naruto assured. "About a million times now."

"Hm." Sakura shrugged. "Must be a good book."

Naruto grimaced.

The group continued on in a relatively comfortable silence. For the two Genin, this was the first time being this far outside of Konoha. While not amazed at the scenery, Sakura did find herself paying attention to her surroundings. The flora wasn't different from what they were used to, it was, however a lot more prevalent. The path they walked was surrounded on both sides by a thick forest with no visible end to it further up. The sounds inside of the forests were louder than in the village, the wild was less afraid of human interaction outside of Konoha. And the smells were much more earthy than inside the village. No restaurants producing the unique smells of various dinners, and no factories that muddled the smell of nature.

It was surreal in a strange sort of way for them. Definitely a new experience.

But Sasuke noted that Naruto didn't seem to even notice the change of scenery. He just stared in front, lost in thought with his hands behind his head. Sasuke had caught Naruto in the same sort of oblivious state a few times. It made him wonder if the more experienced ninja was as aware of his surroundings as those who weren't distracted. But, then again, Kakashi had been reading his book the entire time. It was possible that being preoccupied was just a show in case there was any issues on the mission. They could be luring attackers in with a false sense of security. Who knew.

Both had obviously done this sort of thing before.

"Naruto." Sasuke began. The blonde turned to him, pulling out of his own head. "Earlier when we accepted this mission, Sandiame-sama said you've completed B-rank missions before."

"Aa." Naruto confirmed.

"How many?"

Naruto glanced curiously at Sasuke. "Hm? How many B-rank?" Thinking about it for a moment. "Exactly tirty two."

Sasuke's eyes widened. _Thirty_ _... two?_ "How many completed missions in total?"

"Fifty two." Naruto answered.

"Thirty three, actually." Kakashi interjected.

"Huh?" Naruto's brow furrowed. "What was the last-" He closed his mouth and looked slightly away, hands falling to his sides. That last one was no completed mission... "No... fifty-two."

Kakashi turned subtly to Naruto, realizing his mistake. "Aa. Gomen, Naruto." He said lowly.

He just nodded.

Sasuke's gaze stayed on Naruto. Naruto just shut down... what was that fifty-third mission?

"How C-ranks different from B-rank?" Sakura thankfully broke the tension between the group.

"C-rank missions guarantee no encounters with foreign shinobi. Genin and Chūnin are assigned them." Kakashi answered. "B-rank missions expect to have enemy shinobi involved. They're generally given to Chūnin, but any higher ranking shinobi can take them. A-rank missions deal with Konoha's, or Daimyo-sama's special interests. Anything from protecting important people to infiltrating enemy nations. Jōnin take these missions, sometimes with a small team of other Jōnin or Chūnin who have proved themselves competent enough to handle them." Kakashi finished.

"And then, there's S-rank." Naruto added.

The two Genin looked to their teammate questioningly. S-rank was a new term.

"S-rank missions are top secret most of the time, reserved specifically for veteran Jōnin and the Hokage himself." Naruto's tone was a bit dark. "What was supposed to be my fifty-third B-rank mission..." He paused. Kakashi glanced worriedly at Naruto. "it escalated into an S-rank mission."

Sasuke and Sakura gasped. Veteran Jōnin and the Hokage? "How... did you complete that?" Sasuke asked in astonishment.

"I didn't." Naruto said in a low, dark voice. "I survived."

Sakura and Tazuna gulped.

But only Sasuke noticed that Naruto had tensed and a strange, terrifying hatred had crossed his eyes so subtly, it was nearly indistinguishable.

Sasuke looked over to see Kakashi staring at him with wariness in his eyes before turning back in front of him.

"That's enough, Naruto." The Jōnin cut in with a softer tone.

The boy exhaled a small breath and the tension left his muscles along with the dark look in his eyes. "Hai."

"So... uh, Tazuna-san." Sakura changed the topic. Naruto gave her a small, grateful smile. "What kind of bridges do you build?"

The man cleared his throat. "Well... uh, the kind you walk over." He answered confidently.

"Interesting." Sakura smiled. "Just one person? Or-"

The sound of metal grating through the ground rang through the air. The entire group's eyes were fixed on Kakashi. Chains wrapped around his body and two shinobi jumped in the air on either side, pulling Kakashi apart.

Sou ka... Naruto's eyes narrowed as the two shinobi who looked vaguely like a man he hated from the depths of his soul, dashed behind him, that chain connected to each's gauntlet lassoing in the air, ready to ensnare Naruto. _Am I their target?_

Acting much quicker than Naruto expected either Genin to, Sasuke was lunging forward to save Naruto and Sakura grabbed Tazuna and yanked him back toward a tree.

Naruto ducked low, the chain swiping right over his head as Sasuke tossed a shuriken, pinning the chain to a tree and pinning the shuriken in turn with a kunai.

 _Perfect_

Naruto popped back up on the inside of the closest ninja's defense, the spinning orb of chakra leading his hand as he thrust it, and Sasuke was in a similar position, slicing his kunai up at the enemy.

Both ninja disconnected the chain, shifting backward quickly and managing to avoid the attacks.

Instantly, their attention turned to Tazuna.

 _The bridge builder..._

Sakura stood in front of the bridge builder, crouched in a tight defense with a kunai in her hand.

 _Time to end this._

Naruto spun and launched his own kunai right at Sakura. Flying between the enemies, both turned inward to glance at it, confused.

The next second, the shinobi to Sakura's right was plunged down into the ground which buckled and erupted with dust spinning and flying about.

She blinked, wondering how she was still alive.

The dust cleared quickly.

Naruto stood from straddling one of the shinobi, pulling his palm off of that ninja's chest, a large hole shredded and the skin beneath twisted and mangled. Kakashi held the other in a choke hold.

Kakashi glanced down to Naruto. "I had them, you know."

Naruto clapped the dust off of his hands. "I know. I just wanted to look cool."

Kakashi sighed.

Sakura's gaze fell to the ninja below Naruto. "Is he... dead?"

Naruto nudged the shinobi with his foot. He groaned. "Nah, he'll live."

"Y-you..." The one Kakashi held grunted out. "You're... Namikaze Naruto."

Naruto's eyebrow rose. "I didn't know I was famous."

"Well, you can't use Hiraishin no Jutsu without turning some heads." Kakashi concluded. "These ones. Kirigakure no Oni Kyōdai."

Naruto's eyes lit up in recognition. He smirked. "Gōzu and Meizu. I remember you. We fought each other in Chūnin Exams." He chuckled. "If I remember right, we beat you back then, too."

"By the way, Tazuna-san." Kakashi lifted both up and tied them to a tree before glancing at Tazuna. "We need to talk." Kakashi's voice rarely dipped into seriousness, but when it did, chills were sent down spines.

"A-about what?"

Kakashi stared down at the Kiri nin. "Them. These two are Chūnin from Kirigakure no Sato. They're known for relentless offensives without regard for the consequences."

The conscious one looked up to Kakashi. "How did you know we were coming?"

Naruto was thinking along the same lines.

"A puddle." Kakashi revealed. "In the middle of the road with no source of water nearby when it hasn't rained in weeks."

"Wow. I didn't even see a puddle." Naruto muttered.

"If you knew about the attack, why did you let the kids do all the fighting?" Tazuna glared.

Kakashi's glare with only one eye put Tazuna's to shame. "I wanted to see who they were targeting and what they were after. Me and my team? A conflict between villages? Or the master bridge builder."

Tazuna gulped.

"You requested a team to protect you from standard threats, nowhere in your request did it say there would be shinobi hunting you, that would require a team of ninja like Naruto who are capable of handling B-rank missions and charged you for that level of protection." Kakashi pointedly stated. "Because you lied, you've jeopardized the lives of my team and that's unacceptable. I'm sure you have your reasons, but this is beyond the scope of our mission."

"Should we go back?" Sakura asked worriedly. "You said B-rank missions almost always have shinobi conflicts..."

"We're not gonna shy away from a challenge." Naruto smirked confidently. "Right Sasuke?"

Sasuke's eyebrow rose. "That wasn't very challenging."

"Hehehe. So why turn back?"

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

There were only two paths. One leading to Suna, the other toward Konoha and Naruto had no way of knowing which one his target would take. He'd picked a point with very good forest cover on both sides about a mile out where the road split and decided he would do it here. Surveying the area, he began to set up, making sure to leave a Hiraishin formula a ways out just in case.

With the cross sign, thirty or so Kage Bunshin spawned around him. "Set a three mile Kanchi Kekkai, spread Hiraishin's formula to every tree." The clones dashed off to perform their duty.

Naruto ran through a few hand seals and four kunai with seal tags attached to them. He tossed them out in four different directions, each embedding themselves into opposite trees. His hands whizzed through a few more seals. "Uzumaki no Fūin!" He slapped his hand on the floor and a wide circle of symbols drew out on the ground, four lines extending toward the four kunai. Biting his finger, his thumb touched the center of the seal. The seal glowed for a moment and then disappeared.

He saw the sensing barrier form up and disappear. He could now feel the different animals hidden about. The shadow clones were finishing up with their task. The clones released after finishing their task. He removed his headband and the sweater that had the Uzumaki swirl on it's back. No distinguishing marks so this man knew he didn't represent Konoha in any way during this mission.

Tossing his cloak back over his shoulder, Naruto sat down, leaning against a tree.

Naruto had never been recognized for his patience. He was an in the moment, get things done as quick as possible kind of person. It showed in everything he did. His fighting style was fast and efficient, wanting to end fights before the enemy had a chance to analyze Hiraishin and forcing Naruto to rely on speed and Jutsu and due to the massive reserves of chakra, inherited right from his mother's Uzumaki blood, his chakra control wasn't precise or efficient. Prolonged fights weren't an issue for his chakra stamina, but his physical capacity had a distinct limit due to his size and age. Prolonged fights weren't ideal.

In order to end this as fast as possible, his plan was to lure his target into his barrier so he could sense him at all times, and engage, dragging the fight to the center where his family seal would bind him and his chakra. Afterward, the kill was his. That scenario was the perfect scenario, and Naruto knew from experience that plans never went as planned. With his Hiraishin formula on every tree, he had an escape route and a way to avoid being hit.

It was just a matter of time now. According to the information inside Noya's scroll, Joki no Shinobi's projected path was right in Naruto's direction, and he was walking, as if sight seeing. At the pace he was headed and his last known location, the fight should begin by midnight, or perhaps early in the morning. Normally, the wait would be unbearable, but this was worth the wait ten times over.

Meditation was a good way to kill the time. That center focus would be needed.

Several travelers passed through the barrier until finally, a large, volatile chakra source presented itself.

Naruto's eyes shot open.

He tensed when he noticed the chakra source stop the moment it entered the barrier.

 _There's no way he knows..._

The source vanished completely.

Naruto's jaw clenched. He stood up silently, his ears, his eyes and his perception on highest alert.

Shock came across Naruto's face. The chakra reappeared right at the far corner of Naruto's sensing barrier.

The chakra source flooded the barrier, and then focused right on Naruto.

Despite himself, Naruto's hand shook. _That's... impossible... he located me through my own seal..._

The barrier came down in that instant.

Naruto scowled, his teeth grinding against each other.

His heart pumped louder than he could control. He knew an attack was coming, he couldn't fathom where it would come from.

The slightest ruffle set Naruto on edge. Forest critters sensing the tension and running off in fear, birds flying off to get away as fast as possible.

It was distracting.

His fist clenched in an attempt to stay his shaking.

 _There!_

A blur of black smeared into his vision so fast and so silent, he almost didn't register.

Instinctively, he stepped back and flashed to a random formula.

His eyes were wide and his breath unsteady as fear gripped him. _That speed... this guy is faster than Kakashi._

He did his best to steady his breathing. _No matter how fast he is, he's not faster than Hiraishin. If I can just get him inside-_ The man walked right into the seal's center. Shock once more surged through him. _He's mocking me..._

Naruto's anger flared, and then his hatred stoked at seeing the man who destroyed his friends. Underneath a tattered rice hat, a heavy, tattered poncho, the tips of a newer set of gauntlets than what Naruto had seen in the past. He only saw the bottom of the breather on his chin.

The shaking of his hand was no longer due to fear, but a searing hatred. A blinding hatred...

The man looked down, and then around the forest. "Uzumaki." His voice was oily and unpleasant like nails on a chalkboard. "The hunted becomes the hunter."

 _Uzumaki? He recognizes the seal_.

"You hide well." He complimented. But then, his head turned and his lifeless eyes locked with Naruto's. The jagged scar cutting across his face was new.

Naruto blinked.

Joki no Shinobi was instantly in the air, his elbow cocked back and three jagged blades extending from the wrist of his black gauntlet.

He flinched, and the blades touched his skin, but he enemy's eyes narrowed for a moment, and he hesitated to finish the job.

Naruto flashed to a tree right across from Joki no Shinobi's. The man was staring at the tree, and the blades suddenly retracted. He turned on the branch he was on. "You..." His voice dipped. "What an unexpected treat."

Naruto's jaw clenched in pure hatred.

"I'm surprised you're brave enough to face me again." The man said in a dark voice. "Your eyes burn with conviction." The man chuckled ominously. "A soft heart... even if you could, you wouldn't have the guts to plunge the knife in. You're no threat to me."

"What a shame for you." Naruto's voice shook in rage. "Because I want to kill you so bad that I can't stop shaking."

"You've indeed grown strong." The man's voice sent chills down Naruto's spine despite him being praised. "And your arrogance along with it. Such a fatal flaw."

Naruto growled. "We'll see!" Pulling out a kunai and flipping it in his hand, he tossed it at the rogue shinobi. His hands weaved through a few seals.

Joki no Shinobi was in front of Naruto again, his hand outstretched. Naruto smashed through the tree he was on, his back slamming into the one behind it.

Joki no Shinobi's head tilted slightly. "Impressive." Naruto's hands were gripping the man's wrist, his palm just inches away from the blonde's chest.

The man's other hand came up and shoved Naruto's head into the tree, and the palm cracked against Naruto's chest. The trunk behind Naruto splintered.

The ninja took a step back and Naruto collapsed face first into the branch. "I'm very impressed." The man spoke. "You managed to stay conscious. You may be the first."

He was conscious, but only barely. He couldn't feel his limbs, just a throbbing ache in his chest. His body shook as he choked up his own blood. With every ounce of willpower, he willed his fingers to move. He begged them to move...

To do anything.

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

 _A while earlier..._

Breaks were few and far between. While the ninja could continue without inhibition, the bridge builder didn't have the stamina to keep up. Sitting against some trees in the shade, Team 7 and Tazuna enjoyed the luxury of water and a hot meal, taking an hour to rest.

Naruto had decided to keep watch. He sat on a branch in a tree, watching the path, boredom clear on his face. Even though he was a Kage Bunshin, he retained the original's full personality and half of his power. He couldn't help but wonder if his counterpart had engaged Joki no Shinobi yet, and if so, how it was progressing. He wished he could see or at least sense what was going on, but that was not possible. He had faith in... himself.

How ironic was that?

"Anything interesting?"

Naruto glanced up to see Kakashi sitting on a branch above, one leg hanging off. "Aa. A field mouse crossed the path about five minutes ago."

"Mm. Too bad you didn't come get us."

Naruto huffed lightly in amusement. "You wanna talk?"

"Aa." Kakashi affirmed. "About the Chūnin we faced. With their failure and Tazuna-san's circumstances, they'll probably send a Jōnin next."

Naruto's eyes narrowed. This was getting complicated, and fast.

"I know you're not the mushy type," Kakashi began. Naruto looked up, a bit confused. "but I've been meaning to give this to you for a while. I just haven't had the right opportunity."

"If it's that book-"

"I don't like you that much." Kakashi reached behind him and pulled up a sheathed Tantō.

Naruto's eyes widened. "That's..."

"Hakkō Chakura Tō." Kakashi confirmed. "I don't have any kids, so I thought it fitting that you inherit it."

Suddenly, shame shot through Naruto. He didn't deserve that. Even right now, he was lying to Kakashi's face, chasing a personal vendetta. Their banter back and forth and the insults were both's way of showing their closeness. Kakashi cared, even if he rarely showed it...

"I just don't want you to make a fatal mistake and do something stupid... Everyone makes mistakes."

"Naruto?" Kakashi's voice was a bit worried.

"I-it's more than I deserve..." Naruto looked up at his teacher.

Kakashi smiled. "Nonsense. I'm proud of you, Naruto."

He forced a smile and took the blade. "Thank you." Naruto's voice was sincere, and he hid the shame well.

Kakashi smiled, tousling Naruto's hair. "Well, I'll leave you to it. Those field mice won't admire themselves."

With a puff of smoke, he was gone.

Gripping the sheathed blade, Naruto gazed down at it. This blade was famous. From Hatake Sakumo, the legendary Konoha no Shiroi Kiba to Kakashi... who had a million legend names.

Naruto was no legend. He was a liar. But... maybe sometimes, lying was necessary. He was a shinobi, after all.

He strapped the Tantō to his back. Even if not right away, he'd do this gift justice. That, he promised.

The group was on the move again, the mood being rather contented silence. Sasuke had been curious about Naruto's new weapon and inspected it, approving of it's design and resilience despite being repaired. Not that Naruto needed Sasuke's approval, but having an Uchiha approve of anything was pretty rare. It made Naruto proud of his weapon. He was in a good mood, and not just in a fake, good mood. The real thing.

He was ready for anything.

But a slight worry came over him when Kakashi suddenly stopped and stared into the brush on the side of the road. Naruto glanced in the same direction. A rabbit.

Was he finally going crazy?

"Sensei?" Sakura asked. "Is something wrong?"

Kakashi's eye darted back and forth.

Even Sasuke was confused.

"That breed of rabbit... it's fur is only white in the winter." Kakashi informed.

"What does that mean?" Naruto asked.

"I'm guessing it was placed here for the use of a Kawamiri." He continued. "I may be overreacting-" He heard it at that moment. "Duck!"

The entire group dropped to their stomachs.

An utterly massive broadsword lodged itself into a tree right near the group, and standing on it's hilt was a rather brutal looking shinobi.

Team 7 stood, and all eyes fell upon the new arrival.

The air around Kakashi shifted immediately. "Sou ka. You must be attempt number two."

The shinobi huffed arrogantly. "No hard feelings, but that bridge builder is mine."

Tazuna shuddered and Sakura jumped in front of him.

"If I'm not mistaken, You're Momochi Zabuza seeing as that blade is Kubikiribōchō."

"Ohh. You're well informed." Zabuza praised.

Naruto sensed the tension. If Kakashi thought this guy could give him trouble, then he was certainly deadly. "Who is this guy?"

"Momochi Zabuza... Kirigakure no Kijiin. He's one of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist." Kakashi explained. "And if you're my opponent, then I'm going to need this." He reached up toward his headband.

Naruto's eyes widened. Sharingan... If he was using that, then this guy was even more trouble than anticipated.

The scarred eye opened.

Zabuza's eyes narrowed for a moment, and then he laughed. "Who would thought we'd meet like this, Sharingan no Kakashi."

Sasuke's head snapped in his sensei's direction. _How...?_

"It's unfortunate." Kakashi answered.

Naruto stepped forward. He was gonna have to help with this one.

But Kakashi's arm shot out, blocking Naruto. "Get back, Naruto. You're in the way."

Shock came across his face. His gaze turned from Kakashi over to Zabuza. He's that strong?

"Namikaze Naruto. The Hokage's son." Zabuza chuckled. "This day is just full of surprises."

Naruto's gaze shifted into light anger.

"So what do you say, Kakashi? You want to fight for that low life drunk, or spare me the trouble of killing you." Zabuza asked.

"Or, you can walk away and keep your life." Kakashi countered. "It's pointless for us to fight, the result is still the same."

"Hn." Zabuza frowned from behind his mask. "Your arrogance will just get you killed."

"I guess we'll see."

For a tense moment, the two Jōnin stared the other down, assessing the opponent before making a move.

With speed that Naruto could barely keep up with, Zabuza was in mid swing, his large blade sweeping menacingly at Tazuna and Sakura.

Kakashi was inside of Zabuza's defenses in a low crouch. He shot his foot upward.

Zabuza grunted, flying backward and flipping, landing on his feet. He launched himself backward, landing atop the surface of the lake behind the scarred tree. "Kirigakure no Jutsu!" One hand shot up in a hand seal and the area filled with a thick mist that nobody was able to see through.

"Quick! Manji formation!" Kakashi called out.

Sasuke and Naruto dashed backward forming a tight triangle around Tazuna. Naruto was almost excited to test out his new sword, pulling it out of it's sheath and holding it in a sturdy defense.

A terrifying feeling washed over Team 7. Zabuza's killing intent flooded the area. Naruto saw Sasuke and Sakura tense. He, however, was completely unfazed. He'd faced a killer intent that would make demons flinch.

An ominous chuckle echoed through the air. "I can't say I'm not impressed. You hold your ground like a true shinobi, Namikaze Naruto."

"It's a bad idea to underestimate me." Naruto scowled. "You couldn't scare me even if I had your complete attention."

"It's too bad your friends are shaking with fear. I can see the sweat on their faces from here."

"Where exactly would that be?" Naruto pried cheekily.

Silence followed for a short moment. A chill went down Naruto's spine. "Behind you."

"Naruto!"

Instinctively, Naruto dropped.

Kakashi jumped right over Naruto, thrusting a kunai right into Zabuza.

Sakura grabbed Tazuna and all three younger shinobi dashed away.

Zabuza crashed to the ground, Kakashi kneeling on his chest with his kunai plunged right into Zabuza's liver.

"Y-you're just as good as they say.." Zabuza choked out.

Kakashi scowled. Instead of blood, water poured from the wound.

Zabuza melted into a puddle of clear water onto the floor. "Mizu Bunshin?"

Kubikiribōchō was pressed against the back of Kakashi's neck. "But it's over." Zabuza pulled the blade back and thrust it right through Kakashi's back.

But it was Zabuza who was shocked.

Kakashi splashed into water.

Zabuza's eyes widened in pure shock. He felt the cold steel of Kakashi's kunai pressed against his neck. "Now it's over."

Zabuza smirked behind his mask. "Sou ka. You already had my Mizu Bunshin copied when Naruto and I were talking." He chuckled. "Distracting me with idle threats. That's a first. But I never underestimate my opponent." He ominously said.

Everybody flinched in surprise when another Zabuza flew out of the mist behind Kakashi, swinging his blade.

Kakashi ducked just in time and Zabuza's second water clone sprayed into mist. In midair, the Swordsman stabbed his blade into the ground, using it as a post to pivot to gain the momentum necessary to smack Kakashi in the face with his foot.

The Copy Ninja soared backward into the mist.

Zabuza dashed forward in pursuit. He was stopped in his tracks by makibishi scattered all along the ground.

Kakashi dove into the water.

He glanced around for Zabuza, unable to find him until his Sharingan picked up quick movement in it's peripherals. Zabuza was behind Kakashi atop the water. "Foolish." His hands flashed through seals in less than a second. "Suirō no Jutsu!"

Kakashi realized his mistake at that moment.

The swirling orb of water wrapped Kakashi up filled with chakra so thick, it was as if he was encased in steel.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cried out.

Naruto and Sasuke snarled and readied themselves for anything.

An ominous chuckle came from Zabuza. "It's all over, Kakashi."

"Sakura! Sasuke! Grab Tazuna and run as fast as you can!" Kakashi shouted from the prison. "Naruto! Cover their escape!"

"Hai!"

Surprisingly, both Sasuke and Sakura were extremely hesitant to follow that order. Naruto glanced at both quickly. "What's the hold up?"

"I'm not running like a coward." Sasuke shot out. "You'll die facing this guy alone."

"And I won't leave my sensei or my teammate to die." Sakura affirmed.

"No! You idiots! Run!" Kakashi shouted desperately.

Naruto smirked. "Alright."

If Kakashi could've face-palmed, he would've.

"Sasuke, follow my lead. Don't be a hero."

Sasuke smirked. "Isn't that what we're doing now?"

"No." Naruto corrected. "I'm the hero, you're my sidekick."

Sasuke frowned.

"Oh, isn't this cute." Zabuza interrupted, acid dripping from his words. "You two little boys want to play ninja." He chuckled. "Fine. I'll indulge you. Do you want your bodies sent back in one piece, or small and manageable chunks?" With a single seal, a water clone of Zabuza formed. It stepped menacingly forward, stopping right in front of Naruto and Sasuke.

Naruto's grip on Hakkō Chakura Tō tightened and Zabuza hauled his blade up, resting it on his shoulder with a smug expression on his face. "Let's get this over with."

Naruto smirked. "It's a mistake to underst-" A wave of pain shot through his chest. The Tantō dropped from his grip and Naruto grabbed the front of his sweater, dropping to his knees.

"Naruto?" Sasuke warily stared.

"S-something... went wrong..." He grunted. "Trying- to sustain-"

His eyes went wide for a quick moment, and then he popped with a puff of smoke.

Shock and confusion shot through everybody, including Zabuza. Though, he snapped out of it fairly quickly. "It seems your friend was just a fake." He was glancing around the area, wary that Naruto was still here, hiding in the trees. "Looks like he ran away." Zabuza's eyes zeroed in on Sasuke. "How 'bout it, kid? Still wanna save your sensei?"

Zabuza's laugh sent shivers down the Uchiha's spine. What the hell, Naruto? What's going on?

Kakashi stared silently at the scene, having figured it out. A different kind of fear seized him. Naruto could escape from Zabuza's clone...

But if he was doing what Kakashi thought he was doing, there was no escape. _Naruto_...

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

Face down on the same tree branch with the same Joki no Shinobi standing over him, watching with morbid interest as Naruto slowly regained feeling in his limbs.

Every part of his upper body ached, and he grit his teeth as he pushed himself up.

Joki no Shinobi's eyebrow rose.

Naruto stood wobbly on his feet, glaring hatred at his enemy.

"You're certainly exceptional."

He glanced down to his chest and noticed a black seal circling around the area where his heart would be. "W-what did you do to me?" His own chakra seemed static and unstable.

"That seal agitates your chakra to an aggressive point. The more chakra you try and use, the more pain you will inflict on yourself and the more damage you will do to your system." The shinobi explained. "I won't kill you. You're still useful to me." He regarded Naruto for a moment before he turned.

 _Useful?_

"Wait!"

The man half turned to Naruto.

"Why?" The blond demanded.

"Why what?"

Naruto growled impatiently. "Why am I still alive?! Why did you murder all those people?! My sensei... my friend!" His voice quivered. "Why are you torturing me?! Just kill me!"

Dark thoughts passed through Joki no Shinobi's eyes. He slowly blinked them away. "It's not you I'm torturing." He responded, a strange evil flowing from his words. "One day, you'll come to understand the pain of betrayal. When the plot against your life is executed, you'll finally see the fear that controls Konohagakure. Fear of power they can't control."

Plot? "W-what?"

"Namikaze Naruto... surely you know that the village can't be trusted." He stated. "After all, they're responsible for dropping you right into my lap."

Naruto's legs nearly gave out. His own village?! His own people hired an assassin to kill him!? "Th-that's a lie..." he protested. "You're lying!"

"Why for?" The man asked. "You're already my puppet."

Naruto's mind was too scattered to even process the response. He couldn't believe it. Literally, he did not believe that someone in his own village wanted him... him dead. What did he ever do?!

A chilling thought passed through him. Did his dad know about this...?

"Your perfect little village has an underside filled with more evil and hatred than even me." His voice was low and it resonated a darkness that Naruto couldn't even comprehend. "And you will be my revenge."

"I'm not doing anything for you!" Naruto snarled in rage. "You're gonna regret letting me live, you piece of shit!"

Joki no Shinobi actually chuckled at the threat. "Stick to the script or you may find yourself tossed away with the rest of the trash." He warned. "Just like your friends."

Naruto's entire body tensed in rage. He prepared to strike again, but a scorching pain tore through every fiber in his body. His balance was compromised and he found himself falling from the tree, smacking the floor, which didn't even hurt as bad as what was happening.

He was left squirming on the ground, aftermath of the seal leaving ghost pains and dull throbs.

"We'll meet again soon, Namikaze Naruto."

Naruto could do nothing to stop him, and the next moment, he was alone.

A flood of memories and chakra shot through Naruto's system.

It was like the nightmare just got worse and worse.

He had to get to that battlefield. Sasuke had a mark on his shin.

There was absolutely no way he could use chakra.

Unless...

He knew this was a terrible idea.

He pulled off his pouch and reached in taking a small bottle containing two white tablets. Painkillers. These were meant to numb shinobi on the field who had severe injuries and needed on-sight treatment, reason being that the numbing factor would make it easier to work without the body tensing and squirming.

He knew immediately when he dropped one of the tablets in his palm that he was going to hate himself if he survived.

He tossed it in his mouth and swallowed.

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

 _He moves so fast, even with that giant sword..._

Sasuke's eyes darted back and forth, the kunai in his hand shaking from both fear and pain. Zabuza found it entertaining slapping the flat side of his massive weapon into Sasuke.

But the last strike had been different. Sasuke had weave in and out of several strikes before one nicked him in the shoulder, and a glancing blow from Zabuza's sword equated to a deep gash, even scraping against his bone.

There was some sort of dark feeling he had, as if he knew he was going to die with this next attack. Oddly, it made him unnervingly calm. His senses heightened, his hand stopped shaking and his mind cleared. As if something had whispered in his ear, Sasuke ducked. The massive sword swung over his head, and he spun, prepared to slice Zabuza's tendons in his foot.

For a moment, Zabuza's movements seemed to slow down. Sasuke saw the weapon cleaving down from above.

It took everything he had to dive to the side in time, but he had no time to feel relief. The last two dodges had been pure luck, and he could tell that this water clone Zabuza was getting impatient.

Sasuke's calm remained.

"This is it, boy." Zabuza warned. "I've wasted enough time here."

"Sasuke! Run!" Kakashi begged.

But the Uchiha knew he couldn't run. Not anymore.

 _I'm not letting him take me without a fight._ Sasuke's jaw set.

He spontaneously dashed backward, his hands flying through hand seals.

He wasn't fast enough.

He turned and saw the blade arcing toward him.

Time slowed once more, and his vision had clarity that he'd never before experienced. He saw the blade coming at him, and his mind thought a million ways to avoid it...

But his body wasn't capable of avoiding it.

He would be damned if he didn't try.

Once more, he tried to dash backward, all the while knowing that blade was going to cleave straight through him.

Sakura was yelling. Kakashi was yelling... At least he would die around people who cared enough to fear for his life.

The strangest thing happened.

One second, his eyes were focussed on the blade coming at him, and the next, something blocking that view.

The blonde mop of hair in front of Sasuke sent both fear and relief coursing through him. Relief that he was alive and fear that now they both were gonna die.

Naruto quickly assessed the situation, flashing right in the way of the legendary broadsword's trajectory on it's way to slice him in half on his right side.

 _Oh shit!_

Naruto surged chakra through his hands and arms. His left hand grabbed onto the sharp end, and his right the opposite dull end. His muscles strained and he prayed to every deity he knew that his chakra augmented arms and hands were enough to at least keep him alive.

He slid sideways just a bit before coming to a complete stop.

 _I'm alive..._

He glanced down. Kubikiribōchō had still hit him right in his side, digging itself about an inch deep.

 _Oh shit._

He strained against Zabuza's strength, who was frankly surprised to see Naruto come back. He used that shock to his advantage and pushed the blade aside with all he had and jumping out of it's range.

Sasuke stared at Naruto, eyes wide as the moon. What... the hell happened? Naruto was obviously beaten up. Scrapes on his bare back was evidence enough, but there was something very wrong. He was covered in sweat, his eyes were sunken in, puffy and red and he had a look of nausea and pain all over his face.

"Naruto?!" Sakura nearly screeched. "What happened!? Sasuke's been taking a beating while you were off having a vacation!" Naruto ignored her. He had to keep his attention on Zabuza.

"You..." Zabuza scanned him over, eyes coming to rest on the seal on his chest. His eyes narrowed, both in confusion as to how Naruto could even get a seal like that applied to him, and why he was deciding to continue to fight. He was obviously in very bad shape. "You should've stayed gone, brat."

Naruto took that spare moment to assess the damage. His side was bleeding pretty bad and his hand had a nasty cut across the palm.

"Naruto... you- what's going on?" Sasuke was so confuse, so worried and angry at the same time.

Naruto turned, surprised actually to see the iconic red of Sharingan eyes staring back at him. "I made a mistake." His voice was throaty and a bit weak. His attention went back to Zabuza. "One I'm gonna fix."

"Cocky little brat, aren't you?" Zabuza sneered. "With that seal on you, you won't be able to last more than five seconds without your entire body feeling like it's on fire."

"Hn." Naruto huffed. "You're familiar with this seal."

Zabuza chose not to respond.

"I promise, the seal has no effect on my body." Naruto's eyes narrowed. "I can fight until my heart gives out."

Zabuza's eye twitched in irritation.

"Sasuke, the only chance we have is to free Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said lowly. Given this is a water clone, Raiton would be my best bet on countering it.

Sasuke stood beside Naruto and nodded his agreement.

"I'll distract him. Follow my lead."

"Right." Sasuke complied.

Naruto took a deep breath to curb the dizziness from losing blood.

He glared at Zabuza, his hate from before still channeling.

Naruto broke the tension, crouching low and weaving seals. "Seiton! (static release)"

Kakashi's worry doubled. He's putting too much strain on his body...

Sasuke watched with curiosity as his Sharingan picked up a strange gathering of energy around Naruto.

His attention was broken when Zabuza lashed forward.

Sasuke watched in utter amazement. Naruto ran straight at Zabuza at speeds Sasuke knew himself to be incapable of even hoping to replicate at this stage.

The sword swung.

Naruto jump, spinning and smashing his shin into Zabuza's chin- only he ducked. Naruto was then behind Zabuza, gaining distance. His eyes darted to the Tantō discarded on the ground between them.

Zabuza was in motion almost instantly.

Naruto flashed back to Sasuke, and then dashed forward, sweeping up the blade on the floor and spearing it right at Zabuza's back. Zabuza turned and moved his head to side, easily avoiding the weapon.

Naruto smirked.

The blade arced electricity and sent a pulse of energy from Naruto's static buildup.

Shock showed on the clone's face, and it seized.

Sasuke capitalized. "Katon! Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

The flames engulfed the water clone, reducing it to steam.

Not missing a beat, Naruto pulled a small scroll from his pouch and swiped his blood across it. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Naruto held a folded Fuma Shuriken.

"Naruto!" Sasuke's voice rang out.

Another clone came right at him.

Naruto ducked under the sword haphazardly, but Zabuza's fist came instead, smashing Naruto's cheek and sending him flying into a tree, the shuriken flipping out of his hand and embedding itself in the ground.

Sasuke's Sharingan picked up on the slightly glowing mark on the shuriken's center. _I get it._

Zabuza dashed after his blonde prey and Sasuke after the shuriken.

Sasuke swiped the shuriken off of the ground and cocked his arm back as it expanded simultaneously, eyes locked on to the water clone.

Zabuza came flying at Naruto.

At the very last second, Sasuke switched directions and send the shuriken flying at the real Zabuza.

The water clone cocked back the sword.

The real Zabuza didn't even flinch, snatching the large, spinning blade out of flight.

 _Now_.

There were two flashes.

Zabuza's eyes shot wide. _That movement... I didn't even see it._

Naruto was right behind him, the chakra saber spearing right at his head, this time Zabuza knew it wasn't charged. "No matter how fast you are, your attacks are linear! You'll never hit me!" He arrogantly called out simply moving his head to the side, the Tantō flying right passed him.

Naruto and Sasuke smirked.

Zabuza actually flinched in surprise when Naruto suddenly appeared in front of him, holding the Tantō in a backhand grip, slicing at his mid section with the distinct, white glow streaking out.

The Demon of the Mist was forced to release Kakashi to dash backward and avoid being bisected.

A small bit of blood streaked off of the tip of the saber.

Zabuza's rage exploded. A long, thin cut streaked across his chest.

 _This brat knows Konoha no Kiiroi Senk_ _ō_ _'s jutsu! That's how he stopped Kubikirib_ _ōchō_ _just in time earlier._

Both Naruto and Zabuza landed on the water.

With a livid battle cry, Zabuza launched forward, the shuriken in his hand spinning rapidly.

Zabuza hardly registered Kakashi until the blades stopped spinning completely, one of them embedded in the metal plate protecting his fists.

Zabuza's rage was curbed by the lifeless, cold eyes of Kakashi dead set on killing someone.

The after effects of using so much chakra was causing Naruto's control to go haywire.

"Your part is done, Naruto." Kakashi's voice was stern, absolutely no room for argument. Not that Naruto wanted to continue fighting anyway...

Naruto's legs buckled and Sasuke dashed forward and caught him. "If Naruto's condition is critical, rush him to a hospital. I'll find you."

Sasuke nodded. "Hai, sensei."

"Awfully confident, aren't we Kakashi?" Zabuza taunted.

"No. You can't be confident in something with a for sure outcome."

Zabuza's anger continued to rise.

Sasuke backed away to Sakura, sitting Naruto against a tree.

"My word, Naruto..." She muttered, kneeling down and looking him over.

"How bad is it, Doc? 'M I gonna live?" Naruto joked, earning only frowns.

"Your chakra system is shredded." Sasuke informed.

"And your muscles nearly are as well." Sakura added, hands glowing green and hovering over the gash in his side. She sighed. "You've lost a lot of blood. What were you thinking?"

Naruto shrugged. "I wasn't?"

"Naruto." Sasuke curtly began. He didn't think this was funny at all. "What happened? You left us to fend for ourselves and you come back nearly dead." Sasuke was not happy.

Naruto sighed wearily. "I told you." He answered lowly. "I made a mistake."

Sasuke leaned in and slammed his hand into the tree, right next to Naruto's head. "A mistake that nearly cost us our lives!" He yelled. "What could be so important that you would leave us to die!?"

Naruto's vision blurred. "That... was the mistake." Naruto stumbled out. "Nothing is more important than making sure I don't loose another team."

Sasuke's anger drained for a moment. Another team?

"Most of the damage is internal." Sakura's spoke with a concentrated look on her face and using every bit of medical jutsu she knew. "All I can do now is stop the bleeding, we're going to have to get you back to the Village."

Naruto released a rough sigh. "I don't have the chakra to do that." He admitted.

"No, and you'd probably explode if you did." Sakura chided.

She looked over to the fight with Kakashi and Zabuza worriedly, unable to distinguish who was winning. Biting her lip in apprehension, she gazed at Naruto. She didn't have the proper knowledge to know if his life was in danger, and she definitely didn't have the knowledge to determine who could win this battle, though, she did trust Kakashi. She couldn't risk Naruto's condition. "I have to take him, Sasuke." She turned to him with a grave look.

He nodded once.

"I'll send a faster transport once we reach my village." Tazuna assured from behind her.

Frankly, she was surprised. "Thank you, Tazuna-san."

"Wait..." Naruto cut in. Reaching into his utility pack, he pulled out a paper tag, kanji symbol for 'messenger' written on it. With a smear of blood and a small poof of smoke, a small bird stood on the paper with a small, rolled up paper in it's beak. Naruto wrote a simple message requesting backup for Kakashi before sending it on it's way. He attempted to push himself up, finding he was unable to.

Sakura shook her head, grabbing Naruto's arm and pulling him over her shoulders. He bit his groans back. "Gomen... Sakura, Sasuke." He lowly said.

Neither responded.

"Let's go."

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**


	4. Friends

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

 **Friends**

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

 _The smell of iron permeated the thickening air which nearly reflected crimson soaked in the snow below._

 _The fear in his chest couldn't be pushed down this time. This fear was one that came from knowing something wasn't right. An abomination existed and it did something unspeakable. He had ho hold his bile in each time his foot stumbled over a stray body, or even just a part of one. This thick fog blocked everything out. His vision was reduced to mere feet in front of him, sound was dulled down to nothing. He couldn't even hear his feet sloshing in the blood soaked snow, all he smelled was what the caster of this fog wanted him to, and it was just blood._

 _There was absolutely no way of even knowing where he was in this ghost town._

 _He'd pulsed his chakra out a hundred times now and succeeded in only pushing the fog back for a split second._

 _Taking the smallest of steps, he wasn't making very much ground, and in this case, he couldn't speed up. He'd end up tripping and landing in the bloody messes beneath him._

 _There was a split second where sound came back and the fog parted ever so slightly before a smear of black assaulted his vision. His chest erupted in a dull pain. He vaguely noted he was flying through the air, then he collided with a hard surface, breaking through it and coming to a stop on a solid surface._

 _He could hear, he could see and smell something other than blood._

 _He'd crashed through a wall into some sort of large storage building. The fog was slowly making it's way inside._

 _He jumped to his feet, expecting anything._

 _His eyes caught the smear of black, and he managed to duck underneath a swipe of blades extended from a large, clawed hand. The blades were dripping with blood, splattering it all over the floor behind him._

 _He had to capitalize on his superior positioning._

 _The swirling ball of chakra that was Rasengan was in his hand and he thrust upward right at the black clad abomination's middle._

 _There was a moment where he just knew he'd lost. As if the man had disappeared completely, he felt that someone was behind him, and before he could turn to find out, a scorching pain dragged itself through his skin and muscle on his back all the way up to his shoulder. It was a pain unlike any he could fathom. He felt control over his own muscles give in to the pain and he fell, face first into the ground. His body twitched in a strange way, and his back felt like someone branded him across it._

 _He was hauled up and thrown into a wall, and he could hear his back splatter against the wall._

 _He accepted his defeat and a sharp pang of terror shot through him as he realized this was the end._

 _His attacker walked over to finish the job. He just stood there staring at his victim._

 _And then, without another word, he left._

 _He just turned and walked away._

 _Naruto had never been so disgraced in his life._

 _He rushed the man down with just a kunai, and suddenly found himself suspended in midair, a large, metal hand clutching his neck._

 _"Would you like to join your friends?"_

 _Shock and fear plastered over his face._

 _Before he could even register, he was slammed down to the floor._

— **\- - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

He shot up like a spring was loaded beneath the top half of his mattress, blue eyes wide in a fear he hadn't experienced in a few years, a cold sweat that made his skin sensitive and freezing.

A nightmare.

His breath was jagged and his heart was pounding. Looking down at his hands, they were shaking. One was wrapped up in a bandage.

 _What happened to my hand...?_

As if his body replied for him, the dull aches of his body overtook his senses. He grunted uncomfortably and forced himself back down to the bed. _Oh yeah. Zabuza._

"Good morning."

Naruto's eyes closed and he withheld a sigh. He didn't want to have to deal with this immediately...

He turned to see Kakashi sitting on the ledge of the hospital window - I bet you can guess what he was doing.

Looking down at his chest, he noted that the seal was still there, but there was another seal over it. His chakra didn't feel haywire anymore.

"You should thank your father." Kakashi closed his book. "Fūja Hōin (Evil Sealing Method) should take care of your friend's Fuinjutsu."

Naruto also noted the bandages wrapped around his stomach and chest. The gash where Zabuza's sword sliced him didn't seem to hurt as much as his own muscles did. It felt like someone tried to pull him apart.

Naruto's gaze shifted to Kakashi. His look was pretty clear. He wasn't happy at all. "You're here to make sure I stay?" Naruto asked lowly.

"No." The copy ninja replied. He stood up and faced Naruto. "I'm here because I'm curious as to why you; one of the smarted Shinobi I know, decided it was a good idea to challenge an S-rank mercenary Shinobi." Kakashi never rose his voice, it just became very frank and hardened like a stone.

Naruto just sighed. "I..." He had nothing. "I don't know."

Kakahi's stare sharpened. "I want to believe you've learned your lesson, but I don't think you have."

Naruto looked away.

"You've lost my trust."

That stung more than anything. If Kakashi couldn't trust him anymore, then their relationship was practically over.

Naruto blinked away his tears.

Truth was, he wanted to tell Kakashi that he wouldn't do this again. He wouldn't attack Joki no Shinobi alone and pursue revenge. But that just wasn't true.

So, Naruto just nodded slowly.

"I want to let you know..." Kakashi's voice lowered to a rather sad tone. "Im being pressured to place you on inactive duty by the Council."

Naruto snapped his head to Kakashi with shock crossing his face. "What?"

"They think you need to stay inactive. To some extent, I agree." Kakashi spoke. "You're not ready for-"

"Stop." Naruto's fist tightened. "Where's the Justice?" He asked softly. Nothing could get rid of that overwhelming pain and rage he felt almost always. Some sort of horror movie constantly played back in his mind's eye. One he didn't care to ever watch again. "I can't… I don't know what to do anymore!" Angry tears began to fall down his face.

"Justice and revenge are two different things." Kakashi pointedly reminded.

"That doesn't matter. To me, they're the same thing." Naruto countered. "I'm numb, Sensei. I'm trying so hard to get him out of my head and feel something other than hatred, but I can't! His face is in my dreams. Those people are in my dreams! I can't- I _won't_ let him live knowing what he did." He declared fervently. "What he did to me, and what he did to those people!"

The masked Shinobi knew all too well. He hated that he shared the same dark feeling that a mere boy felt. "Naruto. You need to understand that he is one of the most dangerous people in the world." Kakashi explained. "You're not capable of beating him. You know it. Your revenge is your own issue, but when you put your teammates in danger to pursue your own goals is grounds to take your headband away. You go looking for revenge when the Hokage lets you. Until then, you follow orders." He continued, voice sharp as the feeling in Naruto'a chest at hearing the truth put so bluntly. "The fact of the matter is, you're delusional. Blinded by hatred. Sasuke and Sakura are hard pressed to trust you won't pull this again, and I don't trust you."

"I'm not delusional." Naruto growled. "I screwed up, and I get that and I have no excuse, but I nearly died trying to save them. _The fact of the matter is_ , I will _never_ lose another team. I will die before I do, and you need to understand that." His fist shook in anger.

"Naruto..."

A new voice sounded from his blind spot. He wondered how long his father had been standing there. "You're a good Shinobi. Loyal, smart and strong. I believe you when you say you won't lose another team." Minato paused for a short moment. "…But I won't lose you because of your arrogance." His voice hardened. "I love you, very much and it breaks my heart every day when I see the emptiness in your eyes. I understand your anger, your hatred even. More than you'll ever know. A key part of being a ninja is self control."

Naruto's face was unreadable as he listened.

"If you don't have that, you'll just get yourself killed. Your recent actions should prove this to you." Minato said, staring at Naruto the way only a father could. It wasn't just disappointment, it was fear and worry with a clear mix of anger. "You'll get your revenge."

Light surprise crossed Naruto's face. Even Kakashi gave a warry look.

"But you can't get it now." Minato stressed. "You need to learn control, and the first step is realizing that you aren't in control. Your anger is, and that means _he's_ controlling you."

Naruto frowned. He wanted to protest. Nobody was controlling him! Especially not-

 _"You're lying!"_

 _"What for? You're already my puppet."_

Puppet... What did he mean by that, Naruto wondered. Was he being controlled?

 _"You're not the one I'm torturing - Your own village dropped you into my lap..."_

"Who is he?" Naruto asked in a low voice.

"A mercenary." Minato replied.

Naruto glared for a moment. "Who is he to you?"

Minato stared for a moment and then sighed. "Naruto, that's something you don't have the clearance-"

"I deserve to know more than anybody!" Naruto snapped. "Stop keeping the truth from me."

The Hokage's gaze hardened. "He was a Konoha Shinobi." Minato answered simply. "He lost everything in the war. Including his mind. He's very dangerous, Naruto... I don't know if even I can beat him."

It seemed to drill into Naruto's head at that moment. He knew his father was serious about that. For someone to rival Namikaze Minato was extremely concerning.

"The Chūnin Exams are being held over the next two months. I've asked Jiraya-sensei to look after my office." The elder Namikaze began. Naruto became confused. "I reserved an entire training field for the next month and a half. You're gonna lean some things that only I can teach you."

"What?" Naruto was rather stunned. He'd always dreamed of being trained by his father, but as the Hokage, the man was always too busy. Everything Naruto had ever learned of his father's Jutsu was self taught for the most part. "You mean..."

Minato nodded. "During that time, you have a lot of ground to cover with your team. If you can prove to me your willingness to put them above your vendetta, I'm going to recommend you for Jōnin promotion and place Sakura and Sasuke on a team under your command - assuming they make Chūnin."

Naruto's eyes widened. Him... a Jōnin... "That's why..."

"Aa." Minato walked toward the bed. "Part of being the leader of a team means nurturing the skills of your subordinates."

"So I should try and teach them?" Naruto asked.

"Yes." Minato answered. "Imagine the the feats you could accomplish, the value you could bring to the village if Sasuke and Sakura were your equals."

Naruto had to admit, that made sense. If more shinobi were as strong as Kakashi, the Village as a whole would be a safer place.

Minato placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder and smiled fondly. "You're a strong shinobi, and you're the only person holding you back. However, there's a difference between your quest for vengeance and my wanting to bring Joki no Shinobi to justice; I want him dead to make the world a safer place. That's my primary motive. But its secondary on your mind."

Naruto's gaze fell to his lap. He felt childish because he couldn't deny that.

"And I understand that." The Hokage said in a lower, more understanding voice. "But that mindset will only bring the darkness out in you. You need to remember that you're only human. Acknowledging your flaws will strengthen you to try your absolute hardest to overcome them."

Naruto nodded. Such a simple truth was rather sobering. "What if I can't get over it?" He asked. "What if I'll always want him dead for selfish reasons?"

"If that's the case... then I've failed you as a father and as a leader." Minato replied without skipping a beat.

Naruto looked up at Minato with an incredulous stare. "Tousan! That- that's not true! It's my fault! You... you didn't make the mistakes, I did..."

The Hokage simply chuckled lightly. "I've already made a million and a half mistakes as a a leader and as your father." He chuckled lightly. "Don't worry, you're not perfect either." He jabbed Naruto's shoulder lightly. "Whadd'ya say? Wanna let your old man try and fix those mistakes?"

Naruto smiled a genuinely happy smile and nodded. "If you can still keep up."

Both Minato and Kakashi sniggered.

"Good. Then as soon as you're out, I'll see you at the training grounds bright and early."

 **— - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

It played back for him like a movie clip stuck on repeat, and it ate away at him like acid. Retracing the entire scenario in his mind, every minute detail, every single mistake and every moment his arrogance blinded him.

Joki no Shinobi's speed, his ability to predict Hiraishin jumps, to sense Naruto through his own Fūinjutsu. Naruto had underestimated his opponent at every turn. From the moment he stepped out of the village - scratch that - from the very instant he began plotting revenge, he was doomed to fail. The more he thought about it, the more he realized just how ridiculous his quest had been. Naruto had seen this man killing an experienced Jōnin who he knew he couldn't face even with his current skills. What made Naruto believe he'd be able to fight the man who effortlessly killed that Jōnin was beyond even him. It was ridiculous.

Joki no Shinobi was faster than Kakashi. He had poise and control that most shinobi didn't have, and for him to show that level of control spoke bounds about his true capabilities. He was moving almost as fast as Naruto's father and stopped what should've been a killing blow instantaneously. Naruto could still feel those three blades touching his skin lightly and still feel the fear of realizing he was at another man's mercy.

Naruto didn't know if it was mercy at all, or if it was pity that stopped Joki no Shinobi from finishing the job. Either way, it was insulting - as ironic as being insulted for not being killed was.

He should've died back there in that forest; his body should still be rotting, waiting for some poor traveler to finally catch a whiff of his decomposing body and deliver it to his family.

But here he was. Alive and well. The only thing dead was his resolve and the only thing rotting was his ego.

Naruto just keep asking himself the same question over and over again. How naïve was he to think that he; a thirteen year old Chūnin could stand even a remote chance against an S-Rank criminal who managed to avoid ANBU hunter-killer squads and Danzō-sama's Foundation? What kind of delusions of grandeur ran rampant through his mind while plotting this... this laughable attempt at vengeance?

It wasn't as if Naruto never lost fights, but this was something that meant so much more than just an ego booster. This was his justice! His revenge on the man who made his life hell.

Every night he saw the bodies. He heard the sloshing of blood soaked mud and felt it creeping inside of his sandal. He smelled the iron of spilt blood and the rancid stench of burning flesh. He saw their faces. Civilians who never had a chance to even protect themselves; men and women of all ages. Children... boys and girls that were his own age mates at the time with their whole lives ahead of them! Even children just entering the world were cut down before they could even experience even a smidgen of the wonders life had to offer. Even though he never heard their cries of terror, those horrific screams echoed through their faces and reflected in their eyes.

To face that every night in his dreams was more than just torture. It was as if hell itself resided in his subconscious, just waiting to unleash itself the moment Naruto lowered his guard.

It wasn't determination he felt after his crushing defeat... it was hopelessness. He was starting to admit to himself that his revenge, his justice was a goal unattainable by him. Those faces would haunt him for the rest of his life, asking him why he'd forsaken them, why their senseless slaughters would never have closure. He would be the reason these souls could never rest in peace because he wasn't strong enough.

He knew he never would be the moment his father admitted his own wariness and uncertainty of whether or not he possessed the skills to destroy this evil man.

He felt like nobody really got it. Maybe he was overreacting. Maybe seeing these sorts of things was a Shinobi's lot in life. But if it was, he hated it. He thought back to the famous words of Shodai Hokage-sama.

 _"To live in a world where children don't have to die for nothing. That is my dream."_

That dream was only stunted by Naruto's own decision to move forward with his life too soon. Too eager to grow up too fast. Hell, he still was... with his mind focused on revenge and death.

The cool, evening breeze blew through Naruto's hair as he sat on the roof of his home, gazing toward the famous mountain with the faces of the legendary Hokage carved into it.

He used to have the childish dream to be the next face carved on that mountain. Now, he had absolutely no desire to follow in his father's footsteps. He just wanted to be happy. To live a life without death and disaster around every corner. As stupid as it sounded, he just wanted the conflicts to stop. He just had no idea how to actually make that a reality. And even if he did know, he was just one person.

Years ago, he felt the same way he did now; like all hope was lost. Back then, he wanted to give it all up, and he was going to do it too. But the life of a Shinobi wasn't easy to give up, as Kakashi had reminded him. All Shinobi swore an oath to serve the village to the best of their abilities. Naruto swore that oath.

And he was never one to go back on his word. He would never betray his family - _himself_ by abandoning his nindō.

He inhaled a deep breath, searching deep within himself to find the resolve he needed to try and fix the damage he'd done to his comrades trust. Kakashi was right. He abandoned them. Sasuke was dead right when he said that Naruto of all people should know that any mission can go terribly wrong at any given moment. It was so selfish… so _damn_ selfish for Naruto to run around, thinking he could do what he wanted without consequences.

His dad was lenient this time. Naruto should've been placed on inactive duty pending the Shinobi Council's authority to decide whether he was fit to be a ninja. If he wasn't, he'd either be discharged and have his chakra permanently sealed from him or run away and betray his Village. This second chance wasn't one that should be taken lightly. Rarely did Shinobi get them.

His punishment was going to dished out by his father personally. As amazing as the opportunity to train with his father was, it was going to be filled with lectures and meant to drill teamwork into his mind. To make Naruto understand the concept of the Villages importance over his own selfish desires, and as much as Naruto wanted to believe he'd learned his lesson, he knew he hadn't. Maybe right now, he had no desire to follow through with his plan as it stood, but those urges would return the moment another sleepless night due to images in his sleep. Or even seeing Noya's disappointment at hearing Naruto's decision.

He needed this. And he knew it.

The sound of footsteps coming from inside the window behind him leading back into

The house caught his ears.

He expected his mom to be livid, but he could tell just by her footsteps that she wasn't.

Stepping onto the roof, Kushina sat down next to Naruto, her gaze following her son's.

For a long moment, they sat in silence. Just her presence made him feel safe and protected in a way that only a mother could protect her son. He felt like he betrayed her the most by denying her the son she deserved, by being so cursed by his own emotions and allowing them to control him when she was so strong for putting up with his bullshit, for taking as much as the burden from him - hell, from her husband and her two younger boys as she could, no matter how trivial that burden was.

Only a mother could do that. Only a mother could love unconditionally and sacrifice anything to make their children as happy as they could. Even if it meant sacrificing everything.

He couldn't imagine what he would've done to her if Joki no Shinobi were to actually have killed him. And he would've been the one responsible for for the pain she would feel. The pain his father would feel.

The damage he would do to his little brothers.

A shame unlike any before washed over him as if he'd dove right into freezing water.

He felt like a little boy.

It was amazing the way his mom's mere presence made him understand the extend of what he almost did. He knew he put her through a lot of stress as it was, and that made him feel so terrible.

Tears welled up in his eyes, and he glanced down to his lap sheepishly like a child.

He almost died. He almost put her through a pain he couldn't comprehend.

"I'm sorry..." He whispered.

Kushina turned to Naruto. Her own eyes were beginning to water as well. She reached out and pulled Naruto into a hug, and he broke. He was too old to sob, but it didn't stop his tears from flowing freely as his forehead rested against her shoulder.

She held him tight, rubbing his back methodically and kissed the top of his head. "I love you, Naruto. So much." Her heartfelt whisper made Naruto feel so much better as if she was healing the wound in his soul. "If I could take it all away, I would."

Naruto's arms wrapped around her. "I love you too."

"Please... don't put yourself in danger like that." She said with a small quiver.

He nodded. Next time he went after Joki no Shinobi, he'd be prepared. That much, he was one hundred percent sure of.

They pulled away from each other. With the distinct swirl of love in her eyes, she just held her gaze on her first born for a long moment before placing a kiss on his forehead. "Your brothers took over your bed. They said they wanted to keep it warm for you." She chuckled fondly.

Naruto smiled. Such an innocent excuse. They wanted to feel as close to him as possible. "I hope they didn't destroy anything."

"They're asleep right now, why don't you go and get some rest. You have an early day tomorrow."

Naruto couldn't protest. He needed rest.

Kushina stood up and pulled Naruto to his feet, giving him one last, quick hug before he went to his room.

Sure enough, there they were, sprawled out on his bed in a tangle of arms and legs with the closet light on and the door cracked.

Naruto put on a pair of shorts and threw his sweater in the hamper, wiggling in between the two trouble makers. They both instinctively cuddled up to him to absorb his warmth.

He'd never truly realize how grateful he was for his family.

 **— - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - — - - —**

Naruto was up earlier than everyone in his house. It was still a bit dark outside and the distinct chill of winter rested in the air. As silently as he could, he sat up and peeked outside his window. It was snowing lightly. The way the clouds were looking, the ground would be covered in a small layer of snow.

He readied himself for the day, dressing in a long sleeve with an orange and black vest over it. Making sure he had his gloves on and the red scarf gifted to him by his mother some years back.

The house was still silent by the time he was ready to leave, a home made breakfast bar in hand.

He had one place to go this early, the only person he knew would definitely be awake, only because he trained day and night. Naruto quickly made his way through the quiet village, enjoying the remaining darkness and the feeling of being wrapped in warmth and the small prickle of the winter air blowing through his clothes.

Surprisingly, the Uchiha compound was a bit busier than most. Store owners setting up, the police force patrolling. But, Naruto expected as much. Most Uchiha were dedicated to their craft, whether it be as a Shinobi or as a simple restaurant owner. It was endearing. Naruto wondered if they even took any days off, because he knew Sasuke didn't.

He was let in to the compound right away. Walking through, he received respectful, welcoming looks and smiles, even some greetings from the civilians. The Hokage was close to the Uchiha, having helped their public image from one of negativity into one of gratefulness. Easily the most powerful clan in Konoha, these people were needed more than the village knew. They were the reason nobody dared openly attacking Konoha, and arguably a huge reason the Third Shinobi World War was won so soundly. They definitely set up the circumstances for Naruto's father's legendary feat that ended the war.

The head family was powerful as well. Kakashi had once admitted that even he probably couldn't defeat Uchiha Fugaku without injury, and as for Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui, Kakashi said that he had serious doubts about even surviving an encounter with either one, going as far to say that they would surpass him if they hadn't already.

Itachi had such mastery of Genjutsu that nobody knew the extent of his ocular power's limits. He didn't even need to use the Sharingan half of the time, a simple sound or a short glance at anything Itachi used as catalyst was all he needed. He once averted a potential conflict with Suna by placing over twenty ANBU in a Genjutsu after illegally entering the Fire Country's borders. Twenty fully trained Shinobi in a Genjutsu.

It wasn't just that he was skilled with, but his shurikenjutsu was legendary, his Taijutsu and Ninjutsu were so incredibly dangerous that anyone who fought him tried their hardest to keep him from weaving hand seals, which he could do so fast that not even a Sharingan couldn't notice it.

And what was even crazier was that Uchiha Shisui was considered to be even stronger than Itachi. They called him Shunshin no Shisui. He could move so fast that his enemies sometimes mistook him for the Hokage who could literally move instantaneously. Some said that Shisui's shunshin no jutsu rivaled even the Hokage's - which was incredible because people often mistook Minato's speed for his space-time jutsu. His Taijutsu, Ninjutsu and Genjutsu were nothing to scoff at, the first two arguably better than Itachi's.

Naruto had no doubt in his mind that Sasuke would one day be as strong, if not stronger than them just because of his determination to surpass his older brother and earn his father's approval. As of then, Sasuke could easily be the strongest active Genin, maybe even stronger than the Hyūga prodigy - though that would be an incredible fight...

Sasuke's training with Itachi would pay off, Naruto knew it. The younger Uchiha seemed to be a bit of a late bloomer when it came to discovering the potential of his powers.

Naruto made it to the Clan Head's home, knowing that Sasuke would be by the docks in an open field. He wasn't wrong. Sasuke was there, relentlessly attacking his older brother with an aggressive Taijutsu. He was fast, Naruto already knew that. In such a short time, he'd become even faster. His moves were fierce and purposeful, more precise than when Naruto faced him. It was that Sharingan of his that made his attacks so brutal and so accurate. No movement was wasted. But, Itachi was not deterred in the slightest. It seemed as though Sasuke was moving slowly, the way Uchiha Genius wove through and blocked the various punches and kicks with minimal movement.

Naruto noted that Sasuke was beginning to get frustrated at his inability to land even a single blow on Itachi. And then, Naruto saw it, probably just after Itachi did. Sasuke made the simple mistake of overextending his foot in the follow through of a punch launched out of sheer frustration. Itachi simply redirected the punch and exploited the overextended foot by tripping his younger brother when his balance was compromised ever so slightly.

Sasuke fell with an audible and surprised grunt.

"You're getting sloppy." Itachi chided evenly. "I've told you before that your temper will only hinder your progression."

Sasuke stood up with a scowl on his face, but surprisingly, accepted the criticism with a nod.

"Small flaws are the only thing of note." Itachi continued. "Otherwise, your Taijutsu is near perfect."

"What mistakes?"

"Only efficiency." Itachi answered. "You still have a bit of room to minimize body movement to conserve energy. Taijutsu isn't about how hard you can hit the opponent, but rather to force them into making a mistake to capitalize. And then you hit them hard."

Naruto's eyebrows rose. That was probably the most accurate description of how Taijutsu was supposed to be executed.

"Hai." Sasuke acknowledged.

Itachi then slowly turned to stare at Naruto hidden in the trees. "You hide well, Naruto-kun."

Sasuke spun to try and find Naruto. He simply jumped down from the trees and walked into the open, not surprised in the slightest that Itachi both found him and identified him. He'd probably done it before Naruto even arrived.

The look on Sasuke's face was rather sour at seeing him which made Naruto grimace internally. "Not good enough, apparently." Naruto replied to Itachi. "Your Taijutsu is incredible." Naruto turned to Sasuke. "Even better than when we fought."

Sasuke chose not to respond.

Naruto smiled a bit sadly, gaze turning toward the ground.

"I have a mission soon. It was nice to see you, Naruto-kun."

"Yeah, same." Naruto replied.

Itachi walked away, leaving only the two teammates together.

"What are you doing here, Naruto?" Sasuke asked a bit sharply.

The blonde sighed. "I... I wanted to explain myself." He answered. "I think you deserve that much."

Sasuke placed his hand on his hip, silently waiting.

"I don't expect you to forgive me and I'm not gonna try and make any excuses. When I left you guys, I was trying to get revenge on someone who ruined my life." Naruto began. "Four years ago, my Genin team and I were assigned to what was supposed to be a routine scouting mission. Some stranger had entered Port Town without proper papers."

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed a bit. The Port Town Massacre was a well known incident...

"When we got there, everyone was dead." Naruto's voice dipped. "Men, women... children. Even babies." His fist clenched painfully as he spoke through his teeth. "The man responsible for this killed my sensei and my teammate after splitting us apart and left them for me to find. They were torn apart with unnecessary brutality." Sasuke understood the rage. He was reluctant to hear the rest... "He injured my other teammate - Noya and I tried to stop him from killing Noya. The same thing happened to me back then as it did this time. He toyed with me before leaving me to die... I spent weeks trying to keep Noya alive. By the time we were found, both of us were on the brink of death. Noya was even pronounced dead for a few minutes." Naruto blinked away the bit of moisture gathering in his eyes. "I hate him." He said after a long pause. His fist shook. "I hate him so much, I can't even think straight." His voice quivered in rage. "Me and Noya have spent the last year and a half trying to find him. I thought... I could kill him. If I had an excuse to leave the village without raising suspicion, I thought I could get my revenge without even having to explain myself." He shook his head and took a few deep breaths to steady the rage in his chest. "It was stupid of me, but I never intended to put anybody in danger... please understand that, because as long as I'm still alive, I will never let another teammate die!"

Sasuke regarded Naruto for a long moment. He knew Naruto was a tortured soul, his eyes would sometimes become absolutely hollow and he wouldn't respond to anyone. There were clues like when he explained S-rank missions and how Kakashi ended that conversation rather quickly. That incident explained Naruto wishing Sasuke had visited to just hang out, wishing to make a friend, but it also seemed like Naruto wanted to keep his distance. Maybe he was afraid to experience the trauma of losing another friend subconsciously.

Sasuke never expected Naruto to explain himself. He figured that the blonde boy would see himself justified and throw the fact that he saved all of them around as a defense. It was surprisingly mature the way he owned his mistake. Sasuke appreciated that. "I believe you."

Naruto looked up at Sasuke with a stunned expression. "Y-you do?"

"Aa." Sasuke nodded. "But you're still an idiot."

Naruto grinned as he saw the subtle smirk on Sasuke's face.

"Besides, you saved my life." Sasuke reminded.

"Oh yeah, I did, didn't I?" Naruto chuckled.

"It won't happen again." Sasuke amended.

"Maybe next time you'll save me." Naruto shrugged. "Congratulations on awakening your Sharingan, by the way."

Sasuke folded his arms arrogantly. "Hn. I saw the way you moved in that fight. I'm sure I can defeat you with these eyes."

"Right." Naruto said sarcastically. "After I was smashed through a tree and had a seal that ate away at my body and almost sliced in half. Yeah, you would've beat me. But so would a civilian child." He laughed.

"Chūnin exams start in a few days. After that, you'll acknowledge me as your equal." Sasuke said assuredly. "We'll fight on equal terms. Chūnin versus Chūnin."

"I can't wait." Naruto smirked. "By the way, how are you gonna enter the exams? It takes a team of three."

"Kakashi found a replacement." Sasuke explained. "Shisui's private trainee."

"Oh?" Naruto's eyebrow rose. "I didn't know he was teaching anybody."

"We're meeting up today to work on formations. There's talk that he'll become a permanent member of Team 7 after the exams."

Naruto frowned. "A replacement." He repeated. "Yeah, I heard as much. Is that what you want?"

"No." Sasuke answered simply. "What better way to keep track of your progress than having you on my team?"

Naruto smiled. "What about Sakura?"

Sasuke shrugged. "She was only mad at you for a little while. Now she's mad that they want to replace you."

"I guess I can take that as good news."

"What did Kakashi say?" Sasuke asked.

"That he doesn't trust me." Naruto answered with shame entering his voice. "It's because I won't give up my goal to kill the man who killed my friend and my sensei. He knows I won't abandon my team again... he doesn't know that I won't walk right into my own death I guess."

"It was a stupid decision, even you have to know that." Sasuke said evenly.

"Yeah, but one day I'll be strong enough and I will kill him." Naruto said assuredly. "Kakashi has always said he didn't want me to end up like him. He's got a reputation for being cold and brutal, he'll kill a comrade if ordered to. I guess... I guess he doesn't want that for me. For any of us."

"That's not a bad thing." Sasuke pointed out.

"I don't want to be like that." Naruto admitted. "But I'm a shinobi. We carry the darkness so other people don't have to."

Sasuke nodded. He knew that all to well. Itachi was just as cold and relentless as Kakashi was. He held that darkness so Sasuke didn't have to.

Sasuke wasn't against Naruto's revenge. He'd be the same way if something like that happened to him. And he couldn't picture Naruto turning into a cold blooded killer like Itachi. Even if he was a killer, Naruto's humanity would remain intact.

"Thanks." Naruto broke the silence. "Y'know, for understanding."

Sasuke nodded once.

"I guess I should go. Gotta go get my ass whopped by my dad, so I'll see you later." He chuckled. He turned to walk away.

Sasuke watched for a moment. "Oi, Naruto." The blonde boy stopped and turned. "You're the dumbest friend I've ever had."

Naruto's eyes lit up and he smiled. _Friend..._ "Guess I deserved that one, but call me dumb again and I'll seal your mouth shut."

"Hn." Sasuke smirked.

Naruto chuckled and turned, giving Sasuke a peace sign before disappearing.

One last stop.

Sakura was up early enough to beat the morning rush for supplies for what he assumed to be for meals or maybe some sort of medical stuff.

This warm smile was on her face as she made small talk the elderly woman who owned the shop. She didn't have to fake it either. Her joy was genuine. He admired that about her. He envied it, actually.

He waited just outside the shop, and her eyes actually lit up when she saw him. "Naruto!"

"Sakura…" He managed to hide his regret. For him to be the reason she could no longer spread joy or even feel it… he would hate himself.

"Naruto, I'm glad you're okay." She held her basket in front of her with both hands. "You gave us all a scare."

"Yeah…" Naruto rubbed the back of his neck beneath the scarf. "Sorry about that." He sighed. "For abandoning you, I mean."

She pursed her lips. "You came back." Sakura's eyes focused intently. "That's what matters. So you didn't abandon us."

"I never should have left." He admitted lowly.

"But you did. So get over it. I know you won't do it again."

"I think you're the only one who thinks that."

Her eyes rolled. "I know that's not true. Kakashi-sensei told us you were definitely not going to be replaced."

That was information for sure. It was actually nice knowing he had someone fighting for him.

"Come on." Sakura waved him forward as she walked. "Can't be late for training with your mom."

"How's that going?"

She shrugged. "I've only just started, but so far I've learned a lot."

"She's good." Naruto remembered all the times she stunned him with her knowledge and skills. He still wasn't even close to her level. "She taught me when I was a kid. Scarred me for life."

Sakura gave him a lightly confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, she's scary." He answered. "Isn't… she?"

"Sure, she's a powerful ninja. But it's not like she's mean or anything."

Naruto stopped in his tracks, jaw on the floor.

"What?"

"Y-you mean she doesn't torture you?"

Sakura's eyebrow rose. "No. She teaches me."

"Oh. My. God." He actually smiled with incredulity. "She actually likes you."

"Well, I hope so."

"No, I mean… is it because you're a girl?" He asked more to himself. Naruto shook his head. "Not the point. You're learning. That's what's important." He again said more to himself.

Sakura merely chuckled.

"Anyways. Thank for saving my life and all." Naruto's casual voice didn't conceal the genuine gratefulness.

"It's my job." She simply replied. "I am a medical kunoichi in training after all."

"Oh yeah. You'll be saving my life a lot then." He chuckled.

"Probably." She joined him.

Naruto paused his step and she turned to him. "I've gotta run." He said. "Dad's gonna beat me down if I'm late."

"Have fun, Naruto." Her smile was again so genuine. "And hey. Don't beat yourself up, okay? You still got us all of a pretty bad situation. You're a good friend."

That word again made his chest warm. "I hope I am."

She didn't fail to notice how vulnerable he sounded in that moment. "You are."

"Thank you. It means a lot." With that, the vulnerability was gone as if never there. "I'll see you after you become a Chūnin." He gave a two finger salute.

She giggled. "Bye, Naruto."

—


End file.
